This One is Strong
by Spydercry
Summary: He took her from her home and then he broke her. Using unknown magic he is able to control her completely and he sends her after her friends. Little do they know that he has bigger plans than just her. Can Fairy Tail get their friend back in time? Or will the world come crashing down around them? Rated M for violence, some language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1: I've got a bad Feeling

The guild hall was quiet today. As Lucy made her way to the front door, she was unaware that a set of eyes watched her from a distance. Before she could exit a voice called out to her. She pulled up short and turned answer but found that no one was paying any attention to her. With a sigh she turned back around only to feel a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and gave a small scream as she turned around only to fall back against the door in relief as she was face to face with Mira.

"Sorry Lucy, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. I've been pretty jumpy lately for some reason."

"Is everything ok?" Mira gave her a genuine look of concern as Lisanna walked over to see what was going on.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean I haven't been sleeping well the last few weeks but that probably because Erza has been running us around taking job after job."

"Maybe you should take some time off." Lisanna spoke up. "It's not good to take a job if you are so tired.

"You're right, I know you are. But have either of you ever been able to say no to Erza?" I asked then, not really expecting an answer. Mira smiled at me.

"Many times."

As if on cue, Erza came into view with the rest of the team right behind her. Lucy sighed and put her head in her hands. As much as she tried to fight it, a single tear escaped from her eyes and fell down her cheek. She really hoped they didn't see it.

"Lucy, are you ready?" Erza asked, her voice as strong as ever.

"I think Lucy should sit this one out guys." Lucy's head snapped up at Mira's voice.

"What? Why?" The shock and confusion in Erza's voice made Lucy want to cry harder. All she could do was cover her face and sink to the floor. She didn't see Mira step closer to Erza and speak to her quietly.

Feeling a hand on the top of her head she uncovered her face and looked up to see Natsu's eyes inches from her own. He gave her a reassuring smile and spoke softly so only she could hear. "You dummy; why didn't you say anything?" She opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off. "No worries, just rest up. We will be back in a few days." He then stood and walked out of the guild hall. As Lucy watched him leave, there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was never going to see him again.

Without thinking, she jumped up and ran after him. "NATSU!" she called out to him, making him stop and then face her. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was going on, Lucy had her arms around him with her face buried in his neck. Slowly, almost as if he was afraid, he put his arms around his friend. "Please tell me you will be careful."

He chuckled against her and squeezed Lucy tight to him. "I will be careful."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She then pulled back and looked up at him. Lucy couldn't help but smile at his stupid grin that he always seemed to wear. Again, without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him. The stood there for a frozen moment, both of them too stunned to move until Lucy finally pulled back then immediately ran back into the guild hall.

Natsu finally turned back to Erza, Grey and Happy, who all looked as stunned as he felt. "What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea." Erza replied in a slightly strained voice. "Maybe she is finally admitting her feelings for you."

"What feelings?" Natsu cocked his head sideways as he tried to understand what she just said.

"I think we should just go" Grey said "You know, before anything weirder than that happens." His face was calm but his voice was just as strained as Erza's.

With one last look at the guild hall, Natsu thought _Take care of her_ then took off after the rest of his team


	2. Chapter 2: Listen to your instincts

The next day, it was clear out. The sun beat down on the city unrelentingly. At the guild hall, Mira was busy as always making sure everyone had what they needed as she flew from person to person. Lisanna sat off to the side of the room alone with a full cup of tea in front of her. The people of the guild milled around the hall talking and being themselves, but Lisanna just sat there.

Mira noticed her sister and walked over to her. She sat down and called her name several timed before Lisanna jerked up and noticed her sister sitting beside her.

"Oh, Mira. I'm sorry."

"You seem to be lost in some deep thoughts there. Is something wrong?"

Lisanna sighed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. "I'm not really sure. Have you checked on Lucy today?"

"No, but I'm sure she's fine. Lucy was just overworked; with enough rest she will be back to normal in no time. Well, normal for Lucy anyway." Mira smiles as her sister gave a small laugh. "I'll go get you some soup, you need to eat something." With that she left.

She sat there with her eyes back to staring at nothing. She couldn't shake it. There was this nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that something was wrong, and it started last night.

She woke up several hours before dawn with sweat soaking through her clothes and sheets, having had a nightmare that involved Lucy. Since then, that voice stayed with her. Part of her wanted to go and check up on Lucy, make sure she was ok. But the other part of her was telling her to stop worrying over a stupid dream that probably meant nothing.

With a loud groan she set her head down on the table hard enough to draw a sound of pain from her lips and cause the table to shudder.

"Lisanna, child, please don't break the furniture." Her head came up quickly when she heard the guild master's voice. He was standing at the end of the table smile at her. "Is there a reason you are beating yourself up?"

"It's hard to explain sir." She said with a sigh.

"I'm sure I can keep up." He gave her the same smile, but there was a serious undertone to the way he looked at her. So she told him everything.

"I can see your frustration. On the one hand, Lucy is a capable wizard that can take care of herself. On the other hand, your instincts are telling you that she might be in trouble."

"What should I do?"

"One thing I have learned in all my years is to never question a woman's instincts. And neither should you."

"Thank you." She gave him a quick hug then darted past her sister that was holding a bowl of soup. She heard a sound of protest from Mira, but it meant nothing at the moment.

Lisanna ran as fast as her legs would move to Lucy's apartment.

By the time she got there, she was doubled over breathing so hard her entire chest burned and her legs were numb. After a moment of catching her breath, she straightened and opened the door to the apartment building. She blinked several times once she stepped inside, it was too dark. It felt like every single light in the building was out. The stairway was too long as her aching legs too step after step until finally she reached the top and she was faced with Lucy's open door.

 _Open?_

The door was cracked open slightly, which it should not have been. With fear stabbing her in the chest, she pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"Lucy" she whispered as tears sprang to her eyes at the sight in front of her. "LUCY!"


	3. Chapter 3: Why didn't I stay with her?

"You guys came back early." Mira noted aloud as Natsu, Happy, Grey and Erza walked into the guild hall.

"They had extra motivation to finish early." Happy commentated as he few up behind Natsu's head.

"Extra motivation?" Mira inquired

"It didn't feel right; not having Lucy there." It was Grey who spoke. He moved over to the bar and sat down, his shirt somehow vanishing between the door and the bar. He didn't notice. "Has anyone checked on her?"

"Master said Lisanna left about half an hour ago to do just that. She should be back soon."

The team sighed in relief and followed Grey to the bar as Mira brought them all some food. They sat in silence as the waited to Lisanna to return, in fact every time the door opened all five of heads would spin around to see if it was her only to face disappointment.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors to the guild hall flew open and Lisanna slouched in, out of breath and clutching the door like it was the only thing in the world holding her up.

"Lisanna!" Mira ran to her sister as everyone in the guild hall stopped what they were doing to stare in shock at the sight of their friend and guild mate in such an obvious state of distress. Somewhere in the back of the hall, Elfman was heard shouting out is sister's name as he tried to barrel his way to the front.

By the time Mira and the others got to the door, Lisanna lost her grip and fell to the floor. "What happened? Lisanna! Talk to me, please!" Mira urged the girl, but she just sobbed then she reached up and put her arms around the older sister's neck.

"Lucy" she choked out in a harsh whisper. She then started to sob even harder. "Lucy…Lucy…Lucy"

Natsu and Grey didn't wait for her to try to say anything else. They took off as fast as they could to her home. As usual Natsu went to the window then froze in shock at what he saw. Grey, who actually came in through the front door, mirrored his friend's shock.

The apartment was destroyed. The table was in pieces and the couch was upside down with slashes all over. Lucy's papers with all of her stories about the adventures she's had were scattered all over the place, some of them torn to bits.

Broken furniture, shattered glass, torn fabric; the place looked like a war zone. What made the two young men freeze is such shock though was the blood.

There was a sprinkling of blood here and there but in the middle of the floor was a bloody handprint with a long streak that suggested the person was pulled across the floor. Very carefully, Natsu climbed down from the window and made his way to the handprint touched two fingers to it.

"Not completely dry yet." He then brought his fingers up to his nose and inhaled. He looked up at Grey "It's Lucy's." Natsu stood back up and jumped back out of the window. He landed right in front of Erza and Makarov who had just arrived.

"Natsu, what did you find?" Erza demanded, but instead of answering her he took off. It was faint, and fading quickly, but it was still there. Her scent.

He followed it through the city until he reached the edge that bordered a forest. There, her scent just vanished. It didn't change direction, go back one step and there it was, but go back up one and it was gone.

Natsu stood there and stared at the trees, watching the branches sway and groan in the breeze as a feeling of helplessness washed over him. She was gone, and he wasn't there to save her. He lit a fist and started to his anything he could reach.

By the time Erza, Grey and Makarov found him, there was a small forest fire that was spreading from tree to tree as Natsu raged on. They tried to call out to him but he couldn't hear anything except for his own thoughts. Makarov had had enough, growing his hand and arm out, he reached out and took hold of the boy. Instead of trying to discipline him he just held him as Natsu started to calm down.

"Grey, please go back to the guild hall and get Juvia."

"Yes sir." He turned without another word and ran off.

Natsu had put his fist out but Makarov could feel his entire body trembling. Slowy, he let his fist shrink back to normal and walked over to him. The boy sank to his knees in front of his friend and guild master, silent tears making tracks through the sweat on his face.

"We will find her, Natsu." Makarov said quietly, "Fairy Tail will not abandon one of its own."

Behind him, Erza clenched her fists tightly; worry, rage sorrow and more coursing through her. She wanted to lash out like Natsu, but she knew that she had to keep it together. Taking calm and careful steps, she approached her friend and embraced him, trying to help him stay together.

"We never should have left her." He croaked out.

"I know." Erza replied her voice breaking, betraying her efforts to hold everything in check.

"Why?" Natsu asked, his trembling increasing, "Why didn't I stay with her?"

Makarov looked at his two children with a sadness and a fury building up inside of him. He turned his gaze to the sky and brought an image of Lucy to his mind. _Don't worry, Lucy,_ he thought, _Fairy Tail will bring you home!_


	4. Chapter 4: I'll do anything!

Cold. That was the first thought that went through Lucy's head as she slowly came back to her senses. The stone floor she was lying on, and the cold air that hit her bare skin chilled her to the bone. Her eyes shot open at that thought and she looked down at her body to see that she was naked. Another thought entered her mind that caused her to sit up in a hurry but that was quickly wiped away as the world around her swam and her head throbbed.

She reached a shaking head to her temple and winced. "That's right," she mused, "someone hit me." She brought her hand back down and was not surprised to find sticky and drying blood on her hand.

Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, Lucy then looked around her cell. There was something missing, something that was the most important thing in the world to her.

"Looking for these?" A deep voice spoke from just outside the door to her cell. In a little window set high in the door she could see them. Her gate keys.

"Give those back to me." Her aim was to sound tough and demanding, but her voice came out rough and weak. The man holding the keys just laughed at her.

"So you can summon one of these guys and escape? I don't think so." He took the keys away from the window then opened the door.

Lucy tried to crawl to the back of the cell and cover herself at the same time but the man that entered the room didn't care.

He reached down and took a handful of her hair to hoist her up to her feet. She tried to fight back but the man just caught her wrist and, with a sickening and painful snap broke her wrist right there. Lucy screamed and pulled her hand back to cradle it against her bare chest.

"Scream all you want, little girl." He sneered at her, then he leaned down so that his mouth was almost touching her ear. His hot breath made her skin crawl. "No one will hear you." He pulled back then pushed her forward into the room that was just outside her cell.

Looking around, Lucy could see it was a circular, medium sized room with several doors that led to placed she didn't want to know about. In the center of the room was a table, which the man calmly set her keys on.

The moment she attempted to go to them, the man stopped her with a hand to her throat. He then attached a collar with a chain that was connected to the floor around her neck. He stepped away and went back to the table and began to lay the keys out one by one, all in a long line.

Lucy took a few steps forward, trying to get to the table, hoping to grab one and summon someone. She was stopped by the chain just short of the table. She held a hand out, reaching for the table only to find her fingers stopping less than an inch from the closest key.

He took her hand back and looked at the man, standing on the other side of the table. "What do you want from me?" Instead of answering her, he held a hand over the first silver key. A light appeared and the key started to shake and dance on the table. "What are you doing?" Her voice was high and frantic. The key started to shake harder then suddenly, the key snapped in two.

Lucy screamed.

She lunged for the table only to be stopped short again. She reached out again for her keys, but she was still just too far away. The collar dug into her throat as she fought to get to her precious keys. The man's hand moved to the next silver key and the light came again. _SNAP_ Lucy screamed again. She couldn't stop the tears as this man broke her keys. "Please, STOP!"

 _SNAP SNAP_

All silver keys were now broken. His hand then hovered over the first golden key. For a moment, Lucy stopped breathing. It was Loke's key. "Please!" she begged, one hand stretched out. "I'll do anything, please! Just stop!" her heart pounded in her chest as she pleaded with this man for her friends. He smiled at her.

"My sweet girl, you are already doing what I want."

 _SNAP_


	5. Chapter 5: There may yet be hope

At the Sabertooth guild hall, Yukino watch with an amused smile as her guild mates splashed around in the pool like a bunch of children. Sting was the worst one, she had to admit to herself. He kept trying to dunk people.

She sat at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water as Rufus floated by on his raft and warned her about their young guild master, but he already had the poor girl in his sights. He had slipped out of the water on the other side of the pool and crept along in the back to work his way behind her. The plan was to sneak up and push her in.

Something caught her attention and she turned slightly causing Sting to move closer to the edge of the pool. Before Yukino turned back there was a pop and puff of smoke, then Libra was kneeling next to her key holder.

Taken by surprise Sting gave an odd shriek and then fell over into the water. Yukino only half saw him as she was more curious as to why her spirit was there when she didn't summon her.

"Libra, what are you doing here?"

Sting chose that moment to pop his head up and sputter out "I meant to do that!" before he noticed what was actually going on. "Hey, what's Libra doing here?"

Yukino rolled her eyes at him then turned her attention back to the spirit.

"It's Lucy Heartfillia."

Yukino gasped as Sting froze in the middle of trying to pull the other dragon slayer into the water and stared at Libra.

"Lucy of Fairy Tail?" he asked.

"Yes," Libra paused, as if she were trying to find the right words to use. "Her gate keys are broken."

All around them it grew silent except for the sounds or the water. "How?" Yukino managed to whisper.

"We do not know. Her spirits felt her in distress but were unable to go to her, then one by one the keys were broken."

Yukino took a moment to compose herself then turned to Sting who no longer had a playful expression. "I need to contact Fairy Tail, now!"

Back at the Fairy Tail guild hall, it was completely silent. The people there sat or stood in the great room and could only stare at the table, or rather what was on the table, in front of the guild master with a mixture of emotions. The main one being horror.

Without warning, the communication lacrima began to ring. At first no one moved to answer it, but the ringing got annoying to Mira stood in front of it.

"Fairy Tail" was all she said. Her current mood didn't exactly allow for pleasantness.

"What in the hell is going on over there?" Sting shouted into the lacrima. He had leaned so far forward that only half of his face was visible, and most of what was seen was his mouth.

"Sting?" she asked, truly confused.

"Yeah, what…HEY!" Sting's face vanished from view and was replaced by Yukino. Mira could hear Sting in the background protesting and threatening to punish the girl but her full attention was on Mira.

"What happened to Lucy?"

Mira hesitated, unsure if she should tell her anything but she was saved when the guild master stepped up.

"Why are you asking about Lucy?"

"Because Libra came to me a few moments ago on her own power to tell me that…" she paused and looked down, "Lucy's gate keys are broken."

"We know."

The way he sounded when he spoke those two words made her look back up. He had turned to the side and could see a table behind him. The guild master of Fairy Tail wore an expression that was more than just sad, it was almost like he was grieving already. Seeing what was on the table, she could understand why.

Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it herself was totally different. But there they were, all of them. They were arranged on the table so that each half was matched up, almost like someone tried to put them back together. Each key Yukino's eyes fell on tore are her heart more and more.

"A box fell from the sky about twenty minutes ago. When we opened it, they were inside." Mira's voice was so quiet it was almost hard to hear it.

"What do we do now?" Yukino's voice quivered with emotion, she couldn't take her eyes off of the keys.

"We don't know. Lucy was taken from her apartment sometime last night. Natsu was able to follow her scent to the edge of town, but at that point is just disappeared. So now we don't even know where to start looking."

"Can't her spirits find her?" Levy spoke up from her seat. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Yukino stepped to the side when Libra touched her shoulder. "They can't find her." She said simply. Every set of eyes widened in shock. "When they felt that something was wrong they tried but it was like something was preventing them from going to her. When they tried to just locate her, it was like she didn't exist at all. Taurus managed to get to this world before his key was broken and he believes he was close to her, but he was unsuccessful in locating her."

"Where was he?" Natsu shouted out, earning an annoyed glance from Libra.

"He was just outside Hargeon."

Natsu jumped up and started to run for the door but was halted but the oversized fist of Makarov. He turned questioning eyes to the master who just shook his head.

"What else is there?" the old man asked the spirit. There was a look in her eyes that made him think there was more she had to say.

"There may yet be hope for Lucy and the keys." Natsu stopped struggling against the master and looked up at the spirit. "We know Lucy didn't not break the keys herself, we also know that she is not in prison and she is not dead. All three of those thing tells us something very important."

"What is that?"

"Lucy's contracts are still intact. The Celestial King said he should be able to repair the keys, and once that is done Leo and the other have all vowed to find Lucy."

"How do we get the keys to him?" he asked, Libra answered by leaving their sight in the lacrima and then appearing in front of them at the guild hall.

"I will take them to him." She glided over to the table but was stopped by Gajeel of all people. He stood in frone of Libra with his large arms crossed and a stern expression.

"Gajeel!" Makarov barked at the man, but he didn't budge.

"The keys mean a lot to her." Gajeel's tone was low and steady.

"I know" the spirit said.

"You better take care of them." With that, he moved away to allow Libra to collect the broken keys. She very carefully placed them back in the box they had arrived then then turned back to Makarov.

"They will be returned as soon as they are repaired." Then she was gone.

Natsu managed to escape from Makarov's giant fist and ran up to the communication lacrima. "Sorry Yukino, I gotta make a call." There was a split second of her confused face then she was gone too.

"What do you think you are doing Natsu?" Makarov growled, fist ready to seize the boy again.

"Calling Blue Pegasus. I have an idea."


	6. Chapter 6: They can't save you

Lucy tried to calm the shivering that had nothing to do with the cold. It felt like there was a hold in her chest, just big enough to fit her gate keys. _Gone_ she though, for what felt like the millionth time. She stopped crying hours ago, only because she had no more tears left in her today.

After then man broke her keys he tossed her back in the cell and left her alone in her sorrow. A different man came in some time later and healed her injuries and gave her some food, but then he was also gone. Alone again, naked and trembling in the dark. She prayed for rescue, a way out, for something. Lucy knew that she should count on the guild to find her, but if Loke and the others couldn't stop this guy from breaking the keys, then what hope did she have of her guild finding her?

Footsteps outside the cell caught her attention and she curled up into a ball. The door opened and the man stepped just inside the door then stopped. Lucy kept her head down, not moving, with her eyes closed so she didn't know what he was doing. After a moment she heard movement and then a scraping sound. She chanced a small peek and saw him sitting in a metal chair inside the cell with the door wide open.

He noticed her peeking at him and smiled. "No need to be afraid sweet girl, I just want to talk to you right now."

She flinched at the nickname he had given her but slowly sat up. She made sure her legs were tucked in front of her and had her arms over her chest in an attempt at modesty. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked timidly.

"You." He replied simply. "You must have countless questions going through your pretty little head, so I figured I would come down and answer a few." He spoke with such a light and carefree manner that it made Lucy feel sick.

"Why did you kidnap me?"

"Because you were an easy target." It was such a simple answer, so straight forward. She had to blink a few times before it really sunk in.

"Easy target? Pfft, the only thing that made it was because you broke into my apartment while I was asleep." At first she thought he was angry, that was until he started to laugh…hard.

He laughed so hard at one point there was no actual sound coming from his mouth, and he held his arms around his sides as though they ached. "I'm sorry." He wheezed out in between bursts of laughter. "I'm sorry, I just love that attitude of yours." HE finally stopped laughing but the smile never left his face.

"Since I arrived in this world I have watched many wizards from many different guilds. And you were the one that stood out the most to me. Not because of your strength, but because of how incredibly weak you are."

Lucy gasped then twisted her face in anger. "You're wrong! I am NOT weak!"

"Yes you are. Look at yourself! You are completely helpless wit out those stupid keys of yours. On top of the fact that you can't use caster magic AND you can't fight physically." He laughed again then leaned back in the chair. "I know a few ten year olds that are stronger than you."

She was speechless. Sure she may have thought some of that about herself in the past, but to hear it like it's some kind of joke from a stranger, it hurt Lucy to the core. "If I am so weak, then why would you want anything to do with me?"

"I have found that in times of war the most effective weapon is often times the most unexpected one. I've also found that the weakest people are also the easiest to break."

"So what, you are going to break me and send me after my friends? In case you forgot, you destroyed my best way of fighting."

He grinned at her then reached into a pocket and pulled out a small orb. "I love this world, you know? You have these little ball things that can be filled with power and then placed inside a person."

It was a lacrima, but what power it held Lucy didn't know. What she did know was that she wanted nothing to do with it. She tried to pull back from him and the lacrima but he just chuckled and returned the orb to his pocket. "You aren't ready for this just yet, so don't worry."

Lucy opened her mouth to speak but he stood up first and kicked the chair out of the cell. "And just to let you know, the place we are right now? It's protected. No magic can go out, and more importantly no magic can get in. This place also can't be found using any kind of magic. So any hope you may have had that your friends would be able to come to your rescue you can just forget. They could walk right past us and not even realize that you were right there!"

He kicked Lucy to the ground then climbed on top of her and pinned her arms above her head. With his free hand he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "They can't save you sweet girl." Lucy spat in his face, then the real nightmare began.


	7. Chapter 7: I want to see Erza smile

Lucy was dead. That was the only logical explanation she could think of. The man had killed her and she was now in hell. Although what she did to deserve such a place escaped her. The idea of being in hell actually felt better than thinking this might be real.

But it was real. She wasn't dead, and Natsu wasn't going to save her.

Lucy lay on the floor of her cell clutching the rough blanket the man had left around herself like it was a lifeline. So many things ran through her head, most of which she wished she could forget. Like him and the way he touched her. His hands holding her down as he used his knee to pry her legs open.

She slapped herself hard, forcing the memory away. She then pictured a different face and a different set of hands. Hands that were never too rough with her, hands that had saved her time and time again.

 _He looked at her with a wide grin and held out a hand._

" _You said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild right? So let's go!"_

Her lips curved slightly at the memory, but it wasn't enough. It was one of the best ones she had, most of her memories with him were enough to make her smile usually. Today was different though. The memories themselves weren't enough now, until she remembered the last time she saw him.

Lucy shocked herself when she kissed him that day, but in the moment it felt like the right thing to do. She smiles wide at the memory of his lips and how soft they were. That surprised her. With how he fought and the things he could say, she pictured them somehow firmer. But no, they were soft and wonderful.

Closing her eyes again, Lucy tried to imagine what would have happened had she never been taken. When she was at home, waiting for him.

" _I'm hungry! Feed me!" Natsu crashed through the window as usual,_

 _Happy right behind him. Lucy was sitting at her desk writing._

 _hearing him barge in to her apartment she grabbed the closest_

 _thing she could reach (a book) and threw it at him._

" _GET OUT"_

She chuckled. Yes, that is pretty much how it go. He always broke into her apartment and ate her food. He even slept in her bed on occasion. She decided to picture a different scenario, one that didn't end with someone getting hurt.

 _Lucy rolled over in her bed, a slow and lazy smile forming_

 _as she felt the weight of the body beside her. He was_

 _still sleeping, she didn't mind. Natsu was quite cute when he_

 _was sleeping. She reached up to run a finger along his jaw and_

 _end on his bottom lip. He squirmed like he was waking, but_

 _thankfully he stayed asleep. Lucy lightly traced the edge of his_

 _lip as the leaned forward, preparing to do something she_

 _had wanted to do for a while now. Until Happy flew up and_

 _hovered above the bed._

" _You liiiiiiiiike him!"_

Lucy flopped over onto her back. _Stupid cat,_ she thought. She couldn't even fantasize about Natsu without the furball interrupting.

And so it went for hours, days maybe. Imagining scenario after scenario, anything to keep her from remembering where she was. Most involved Natsu, and several of those were enough to make a grown man blush. She was not ashamed to admit. More and more though she thought of her friends, and the lives that she wished for them. She pictured Grey falling in love with Juvia and then celebrating their wedding, thinking about Wendy and about how strong and beautiful she was going to grow up to be. She even pictured Happy and Carla growing closer.

Her favorite one though, was the one with Erza. She imagined a time where she could be happy and free with the man that she loved, and he could be with her without fear of persecution. Lucy wished more than anything that she could see Erza smile the way she did in her scenario. A smile of pure joy and happiness. Erza deserved it.

Lucy was brought back to reality when the door to her cell opened up. She tried to pull the blanket over her head but her got to her first.

He pulled her to her feet then pushed her into the round room. This time, there was a long metal table in the middle of the middle of the room with two cuff at each end. Lucy tried to back away but he gripped the back of her neck and shoved her so hard that she fell against the table. He then lifted her legs up and proceeded to strap her down.

Once he was done, he stopped and turned to her. "I seem to find myself in a bit of a difficult situation. On the one hand, I don't want to give you any sense of false hope. But on the other hand, I think it would be entertaining to watch the light of hope fade from those beautiful eyes."

Lucy refused to speak. It wouldn't do any good anyway. She lay there strapped down and exposed since he ripped the blanket from her and tossed it back into the cell and tried to picture Natsu again. She didn't hear the second man enter the room carrying a tray of medical utensils.

The man turned to the other guy and removed one of the items. "You know what? I think I will compromise, and aim for both."

Natsu was still forefront in her mind as he leaned down and went for her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8: Look for nothing

"Why am I looking at an image of an empty field?" Natsu asked as he stared at the paper Hibiki handed him.

"Because that field isn't actually empty." He replied back smugly.

"Really? Looks empty to me." Natsu held the paper right up to his face then turned and tilted it so he could try to see it from different angles.

"Reedus." Hibiki call out to the painter that had gone with the guys from Blue Pegasus on the scouting mission. He walked over and handed Natsu a drawing. It was the same field, but in Reedus's picture there was a building in the middle.

Makarov was standing nearby and looking back and forth between the two pictures. "How much time passed between the two pictures?"

"Less than a minute."

Makarov turned his sharp gaze to the other man. "How is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure. What I do know is that if we hadn't searched the way Natsu suggested we wouldn't have found that building."

"And how did he suggest you search?"

"To look for nothing."

He could tell that everyone there was confused, so a voice spoke up to help clarify.

"When Yukino told us that Lucy's spirits couldn't find her I figured there was some type of barrier or magic cancelling thing stopping them." Natsu said, finally pulling the pictures away.

"Which makes sense if you think about it. So when we too the Christina up and started the search around Hargeon we were looking for nothing. Magical dead zones, we called them. Places where absolutely nothing showed up on our devices. And that when we found the building. We could see it with our eyes, but not with anything else."

"Think she might be there?" Natsu asked quietly.

"I don't know. But whoever is there went through a lot of trouble to keep it hidden."

They were all quiet for a few moments as they tried to think about the situation. "I think we should investigate." Makarov finally said. "Hibiki, would you mind taking a few of my people to this building?"

"Not at all sir."

"Thank you." He turned around to look at his children and weigh his options on who he should send. "Erza."

"Sir"

"Grey, Juvia" he looked around a bit more "Gajeel and Natsu.: They all stood tall as he called out their names. "Get ready, I want you on your way to Hargeon within the hour."

A few hours later they entire team waited in the forest about a mile away from where the mysterious building was. Natsu wanted to rush the place but Erza shut him that down with a fist to the gut. So for now, they waited.

About five minutes later, Gajeel returned from a short trip to the building to check for traps. "Anything?" Erza inquired as he came back into view.

"Nothing."

"Fantastic! Let's storm the place!" Natsu stood, ready to go.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with flame-brain." Grey grimbled. Erza tried to protest but she was outvoted.

The walk to the building was boring and uneventful as there wasn't a soul in sight. By the time they reached their destination they all had a growing sense of trepidation. At the building, they could see it was rather plain and unremarkable. Outside as well as in. They walked through room after room growing more frustrated as they kept finding nothing. Until they reached the top floor.

The windows on both side on the room illuminated the solitary figure that sat with her back to the wizards. Natsu didn't run up to her, he already knew that she was just a projection but the fact that he couldn't smell her, but he still went to her. She never moved a muscle as he moved to kneel down in front of her, but as soon as he saw her face he fell back with a yell.

"What is it?" Erza called out. She took a step forward but froze when Lucy turned her head. The blood drained from her face and her sword hit the floor with a loud crash. "Where are her eyes?"


	9. Chapter 9: This ain't over yet

"Erza?" Lucy's voice was soft as she spoke. There was a trembling under her words that was very audible. "It that you?"

Y-yes. I'm right here." Erza wanted to run but her legs refused to move.

"He told me you were coming here. Where's Natsu?"

He shook himself when she said his name and sat up so that his head was level with hers. He tried to best to not think about the empty sockets where her eyes were supposed to be. "I'm here." He made sure to keep his voice low so as to not give away the true emotions he felt. He didn't want to scare her.

Lucy turned to the sound of his voice and tried to grab him but her hands went right through his body and she fell to the floor.

"NO!" They heard from behind them. Natsu glanced back to see Grey with both fists clenched in fury. "after all of this, when we were so close, she's not even here?" He was screaming by the time he stopped, and not even Juvia wanted to try to comfort him this time. She was just as upset as Grey was.

"It's ok" Lucy whispered.

"No, it is far from ok!" Natsu growled at her.

"I knew it was too good to be true, you guys finding me."

"This ain't over yet, Lucy. We can still find you and bring you home, don't you worry!"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Give a girl some warning next time, I didn't have time to fix my hair."

Natsu managed to bark out a quick laugh as Lucy gave him a sad smile. "Your hair looks great."

"Liar" They fell silent and sat there. Lucy couldn't see or physically feel him, but in a way she could 'feel' him. It was like her soul could feel his. Natsu, who closed his eyes, noticed and felt it as well.

"Do you remember the day we met?"

"Of course I do. You and Happy saved my ass, then I ran off to join Fairy Tail."

"Any regrets?"

"None."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"What about when you kissed me?"

"I regret nothing" she paused then took a deep breath "Well, almost nothing."

"What?"

"It's nothing."

"Come on, Luce you can tell me!"

"Promise you won't laugh!"

"I promise."

"I only regret not doing it sooner."

A grin appeared on his face as he heard her say that. "Me too."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while then, then Lucy started to shiver. She whimpered, causing Natsu to open his eyes and see that she had huddled in on herself. "What's happening?"

"He's coming back." Lucy shrank. It looked like she melted to the floor as she fell and covered her head with bruised arms. "Natsu." She whispered, he flattened himself to the floor next to her.

"Still here."

"I'm scared."

"I know."

"I don't think I can fight him anymore."

"Don't you say things like that. You can do this."

"I can't! I'm not strong enough!"

"Bullshit!"

"Natsu…"

"No more excuses! You fight him with everything you have!"

"I don't have anything left."

"You still have us." Erza said, finally finding her voice again. "And as long as we live, we will never give up. So don't you give up either."

All of a sudden Lucy jerked upward. At first Natsu thought she was just startled until he realized she was dangling in the air.

"Keep fighting Lucy! You hear me?" Natsu screamed at her, then she was gone. With hardly even the ghost of her whisper in the air.

"Is it time sir?" the young doctor asked his master as he stared at the girl that had lost her fight.

"It is. Begin the fusion process. Two lacrima, one in her core and the other in her brain. Put her eyes back too, she looks like shit."

2 weeks later

Lucy sat still in the cold metal chair with an empty expression. Her eyes looked straight ahead, but saw nothing. The man who kidnapped her, the man known as Eagen, stood beside her.

"What is your name?" he asked in a sweet voice.

"This one needs no name." her voice was cold and robotic.

"What do you desire?"

"This one had no desires."

"Where is your home?"

"This one has no home."

Eagen grinned and rubbed his hands together in eagerness. "Who's orders do you follow?"

"This one follows your orders."

"Good. I have one for you. I want you to return to the Fairy Tail guild hall, and then destroy it."

"As you command, this one will obey."

"One quick think before you go though." He lifted her right hand and touched the guild mark stamped there. "You don't need this mark anymore, get rid of it."

"As you command, this one will obey."


	10. Chapter 10: I can hear her screaming

Natsu was pacing in the back of the great room of the guild hall. Every now and then he would shift his eyes to the stairs, and the direction of Makarov's office. With each minute that passed Natsu grew more and more anxious. Back and forth, glance, back and forth, glance, nothing.

After about an hour Natsu finally heard the office door open. He sprinted up the stairs to meet the guild master at the top.

"Anything?"

Makarov sighed. "Nothing"

"Dammit gramps, it's been two weeks. What in the hell are they doing out there?"

"They are doing the best they can, boy. There is a lot of ground to cover now that Hargeon is out."

The guys from Blue Pegasus were still looking for magical dead zones like the one where they found the projection of Lucy two weeks ago. Makarov had just finished talking with their guild master about the search.

"We can't just leave her."

"We won't. We were talking about contacting more guilds in the search actually. Sabertooth has already volunteered, and Bob is going to contact Lamia Scale tonight and see if they can help."

Natsu sighed and leaned back against the railing. As much as he appreciated the help he still wanted to punch something. He really didn't like the fact that Lucy was still gone. With a strong desire to hit something he turned to the guild hall and saw a certain someone sitting at the bar that gave him an idea. He descended then aimed a small and relatively harmless fireball at the back of Grey's head.

His head bounced forward and his fork fell to the bar with a clank. Grey turned, trying his best to stay calm. "Look, I get that you are frustrated and need to lash out at someone but I am really not in the m…" Grey's words cut off as another fireball hit him square in the face.

Makarov grumbled as the two began their fight. Normally this would start an all-out brawl, but this time the other members stayed out of it. It was just like Grey said, Natsu needed someone to lash out at.

Natsu had the other man against the wall with a fist aimed at his face when he just stopped. His eyes widened as he slowly turned his head to the front of the great room. And there she was.

Lucy stood there, wearing tight leather pants and matching vest with her hair pulled back in a tight bin and a sword hilt rising above her right shoulder. Most importantly though was her eyes. He didn't understand how, but her eyes were there and whole. Despite his desire to be thrilled that she was there, something was off. He could smell it.

Once the rest of the guild caught on and noticed the girl they started to get excited. Levy called out her name and started to run to her but was stopped blocked her with an arm out like an iron bar. She gave him a questioning look, and he shook his head. "She smell's…off."

Lucy was completely still as Natsu approached her. The first thing he did was put a hand to the side of her face. When it made contact he made a noise of relief. She really was there, not a projection. The second thing he did was look into her eyes.

As beautiful as he thought they were, something was missing from them now. Before they were always full of life, but now they just looked dead. Empty, like all of the light had been sucked out. "Lucy." He whispered, hoping to bring some of that light back, but she didn't respond at all.

Everyone jumped when Warren suddenly cried out and put his hands to his head and dug in like he wanted to rip something out. Before anyone could ask about his outburst he start to squeeze hiw words out through clenched teeth.

"I can hear her!" he grated. He turned his face to Lucy. "I can hear her screaming." Warren cried out again and fell to the floor. Natsu turned back to Lucy and placed his other hand so he could cradle her face.

"Lucy! I'm here! I'm right here! Come back to us! We are waiting for you!" he leaned back a bit when he felt her hand touch his chest. He opened his mouth to speak again but then felt himself flying backwards.

By the time he landed, Lucy had reached back and took hold of the hilt of her sword and slowly drew it out of its sheath. The fact that her guild mark was gone did not go unnoticed.

She held the sword straight above her head then spoke in a dead and robotic voice. "This one has a message from her Lord and master Eagen."

Makarov fixed his steely gaze on the girl as he stood on the stairs. "What message is that?"

"Die"

In one swift motion she brought the sword down, and destruction followed.


	11. Chapter 11: Please kill me

Splinters flew as the floor exploded all around. People were thrown back as the force hit them, but Lucy didn't stop with just one blow. She swept the sword to the side and a long line of destruction followed in its wake.

Makarov, using his titan magic, grew to an enormous size and charged at the girl hoping to stop the madness but also not wanting to hurt her. She swept the sword up without even flinching and the guild master was blown back with a large gash that left him bleeding from his shoulder to his navel.

"Master!" Erza cried out. She ran over to the old man and felt at his neck as Mira and Elfman joined her, dodging debris as they ran. "He's still alive." She told them.

"What do we do?" Elfman asked "I know she's trying to hurt us, but…"

"I know, she's still Lucy." Erza picked up the bleeding man and called out to Wakaba who happened to be taking cover nearby. "Take him, and head to the forest outside of town." She turned back to the others. "We need to get everyone out of here. Mira, I need you to keep her busy while I get everyone to run for safety.

"Right" Mira transformed into her Satan-soul form and then flew into the air as Erza and Elfman went in the opposite direction. Each person she passed she whispered her plan, they all hated it but conceded and started to move out while Lucy rained destruction while fighting off Mira.

By the time she got to Gajeel, almost everyone was out of the guild hall. He had an unconscious Levy in his arms and a steady stream of blood dripped from his temple.

"I take it we are leaving?"

"Not everyone. Whatever that guy did to Lucy gave her a power that not everyone in the guild can deal with. Take Levy and meet up with everyone else, Mira and I will deal with Lucy."

"Where's the old man?"

"Wakaba took him. You need to hurry."

"Fine." He turned with a growl and ran out, leaving the three women alone in the ruins of the guild hall. Summoning a sword, she ran up and blocked a swing from Lucy.

"Can you hear me?" Erza asked, but she didn't reply. Instead she pulled the sword away and swung it to the other side to block an attack from Mira. Erza used that moment to send a knee into Lucy's stomach. She doubled over without a sound then touched the other woman's sword with her free hand, causing it to explode into tiny splinters. That's when Mira kicked Lucy in the face, sending her flying back across the rubble.

Landing next to Erza, the two women watched as Lucy calmly stood back up, raising her sword again and pointing it right at them. "We are going to have to go full power one her if we want to stop her." Mira said sadly.

"I don't know if I can."

"I don't want to hurt her either, but we have to stop her from doing this."

Erza closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. When she opened them she changed into her Adamantine armor. "Then let's do this before I change my mind."

They took off toward their friend that was still standing in the one spot was were suddenly stopped by a wall of fire. Erza forgot about Natsu, she thought someone had pulled him but she now saw that she was wrong. She could see him now, standing on the other side of the flames facing Lucy. "Stay out of this." He commanded. "I'll bring her back." They couldn't see his face, but the set of his shoulders spoke as loudly as he did. He charged.

He swung at Lucy with bare fists, and she dodged easily and swung back with her sword. One thing Erza noticed was that there was no power in the swings this time. Maybe Lucy was trying to fight back. She hoped so at least.

Natsu managed to get in a good hit that put Lucy on her knees. He knelt down with the intention of knocking her out, but then Lucy raised her head and looked at him with eyes that were shining.

"Natsu" she said, fear echoing loudly in her voice. Natsu let his fist fall as he fropped to his knees and took her face in his hands again.

"I'm here! I'm right here!"

"Natsu, please."

"What is it? Tell me!"

"Kill me."

Natsu flinched at the request. "You know I can't do that."

"I can't fight it. He put a lacrima in me that controls my body. Natsu, please. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I'll do anything for you, you know that. But I can't kill you."

She started to cry as she reached up and took a firm grip on his arm. "Kill me… kill me… kill me…" she said it over and over as she sobbed and clung to her friend. He just knelt there, helpless and afraid that he was losing his friend. Suddenly the sobbing stopped. He mentally prepared himself to start fighting again when he felt a sharp coldness in his stomach that made him go totally stiff. He looked down and saw Lucy's sword driven deep into him. When she pulled it out there was a sickening wet sound that Natsu couldn't believe had come from him.

Lucy then calmly stood and looked around. "This one's job is done." She walked away, leaving Natsu bleeding and alone on the floor.


	12. Chapter 12: What big picture?

The members of Fairy Tail gathered in the forest outside of Magnolia in order to tend to the injured. Mira and Erza brought an unconscious Natsu back over an hour ago, Porlyuscia took him off to a makeshift tent to see to him in private and hadn't been out since.

Makarov was mostly healed, but others were still in bad shape. Levy was still out with Gajeel, Jet, and Droy watching over her. Macao was lying against a tree and moaning while he clutched a bandaged leg where Wakaba had pulled a chunk of wood bigger than his hand. Grey had a large gash on his forehead as well as his back, Laki had a broken foot along with countless splinters.

All around him, Makarov's children suffered. That alone was enough to set the guild master into a rage, but at this moment he wasn't furious. He was heartbroken. One of Fairy Tail's own had done this, even if it wasn't her choice. He was at a loss on what to do. Looking around, he decided that the best course of action might be to contact the magic council for advice. He hated that he even thought of the idea.

Just then, Porlyuscia came out of the tent where Natsu was being treated, wiping her hands on her apron.

"How is he?" Makarov asked.

"Very lucky. The blade missed every one of his vital organs. His biggest problem was the loss of blood."

The guild master along with everyone else in earshot sighed. "How long before he will be up?"

"A few hours at the earliest. But it would be best for him to rest for a day or two."

"We all know that ain't gonna happen." Gajeel stated. "As soon as he gets up he's going after her."

"I know" Makarov sighed. "We will tie him down if we have to."

"What if she comes back?"

"Then we will handle it."

"Yeah, cause that worked out so well the last time. She kicked out asses!"

"Knock it off Gajeel!" Mira snapped.

"It's true! That guy did something that not only gave her a MAJOR power boost, but to not even care that she was attacking us!"

"Her…she…" Erza's voice was low as she spoke. "Can we not even say her name anymore?"

"The person that attacked and hurt us was not the person that we know." Makarov said. "Our Lucy would never hurt her family like that.

"What do we do then?"

In the makeshift tent, Natsu was stirring in his sleep. His mind was moving faster than Happy at mach speed as Lucy's voice flitted in and out.

" _Natsu look! Mirajane put the official guild stamp_

 _On my hand!_

His head jerked. She was so happy that day. So proud of her guild mark. That was gone now.

" _I don't want…to run away by myself. Because no_

 _Matter what, I'd rather be together with everyone."_

She was so stubborn, even in times when she should have run she would refuse. She could never leave her friends alone in a fight.

" _I've believed in you since I first joined the guild"_

" _Natsu please…kill me"_

His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring at the canvas above his head. He could hear the conversation being held outside and it pissed him off.

He lifted the sheet to look at his stomach. There was a light scar where the sword pierced him, but it didn't hurt anymore. Mostly he felt tired right then. He decided he needed more sleep and then he was going to do something about Lucy.

Before he could drift back off, something Makarov said forced him to get up. His legs were weak but he still stood and pushed the canvas door aside to confront the guild master. "The magic council?" he rasped. "Why in the hell would you even consider them?"

"Boy, if you fall over dead don't blame me." Porlyuscia barked.

"Answer me gramps!"

"Because they will be able to do what we cannot." His voice was so soft that even Natsu had to strain to hear it.

"You mean kill her."

"We have to face the truth Natsu!"

"What truth? The one where you actually abandon one of our own?" Natsu was thoroughly pissed at this point. He couldn't believe what the guy was saying.

"We are not abandoning Lucy! But with the situation as it is, I'm not sure anyone here has it in them to do what is necessary."

"Again." She said through clenched teeth, "You are talking about killing her."

"I am talking about stopping her…and the person that that is controlling her."

Erza stood between the two of them with her hands raised. "Enough! None of us like the situation. The real truth is that we don't know what the big picture is yet. Natsu didn't back down from the guild master, but spared enough attention to the woman for a quick question.

"What big picture?"

"The person who took and then altered Lucy has to have a bigger plan than just us. If it was, then why didn't he just attack us himself? We think there might be something more going on here and if there is we will need the help of the magic council to figure out what that is."

He hated to admit it, but it made sense. He reluctantly turned from them and headed for the forest.

"Where are you going?" Erza demanded.

"Home to pack."

"What are you doing Natsu?"

"I'm going to find her and bring her home."

For some reason, a steps sounded behind him. When he turned to see who it was, he was surprised to see Lisanna was there.

"I'm going with you."

"Lisanna! NO!" Mira shouted, running after her sister.

"Mir stop! I'm going! I'm not a child that needs to be protected all the time. Besides, Lucy is my friend too. If I had just listened to my instincts earlier, none of this would be happening right now. She then faced Natsu with a stubborn look.

"Happy, let's go."

"Aye sir!"

The three of them left the without another word, leaving the rest of the guild frustrated.


	13. Chapter 13: Is that Lucy?

"You stupid BITCH!" Eagen threw a chair across the room and then kicked Lucy in the chest. "You were supposed to kill them!"

Lucy sat up showing no signs of pain. "This one was not ordered to kill them" she stated in her dead voice.

Eagen lifted her to her feet with a hand under her chin "I told you to destroy them." He growled, so angered that spittle splashed onto her face.

"This one's order was to destroy the guild hall. Exact words "return to the Fairy Tail guild hall and destroy it.' This one did as ordered."

He screamed in her face then squeezed her jaw until it broke with a snap and then threw her across the room to land by the chair.

"May I suggest restraint sir?" a man said from the corner of the room. "We still need to question her about those people."

Eagen turned to rage at him but then pulled back. "You're right Connor." He said with a sigh. "Heal her."

"Right away sir." Connor shuffled over to Lucy's form on the floor and held his hands over her head. A soft golden light emitted from his hands that soon enveloped first her head, then her entire body. When the glow faded she stood up and resumed her stance of straight back and hands folded loosely in front of her.

Eagen retrieved the chair he had thrown and placed it in front of her then sat. He just stared at her for a few moments before he decided to speak. "There are a number of wizards that I have an interest in and you will tell me everything you know about them."

"As you command, this one will obey."

"First of all, tell me about Hibiki of Blue Pegasus."

Somewhere in Fiore, the magic bomber Christina flew on in the search for Lucy. The team that manned it were unaware of the attack on Fairy Tail. Hibiki stood outside by one of the wings as he watched the ground slide by. A noise caught his attention but was unaffected when he saw Ren come into his view.

"What are you doing out here?" Hibiki asked, turning back to the landscape.

"I just spoke to Master Bob."

"Yeah?"

"Fairy Tail was attacked."

Hibiki spun around to his friend with wide eyes. "What happened? Who attacked them?"

"He didn't have much information, just that guild hall is in ruins and a lot of people are hurt."

"Alright. We need to turn around. Contact Master Bob and let him know…"

"What the hell?" Ren cut Hibiki off as he moved to the edge and stare over. Hibiki mirrored his team mate in confusion at what he saw.

A particularly tall tree stuck out from all the others and put the top about 50 feet from the bottom of the airship. Standing a thick branch near the very top was a woman.

"IS that Lucy?" Hibiki asked as she raised a hand with all five fingers spread out. The moment she pulled her fingers in to make a fist there was a loud _BANG_ and she airship shook violently. Ren and Hibiki were thrown to the ground but quickly got up and ran inside where Eve was desperately trying to keep the Christina in the air.

"What happened?" Hibiki shouted over the noise of the alarms going off.

"I don't know! It's like the engine just exploded." There was another explosion that sent all three men flying in different directions and then yet another explosion. Eve staggered back to him feet and ran back to the main console. "We just lost both wings. We are losing altitude fast."

The airship then tilted and they found themselves holding on for dear life as they plummeted to the ground.

Hibiki coughed as he opened his eyes to the wreckage around him. Ren was a few feet away, bleeding but thankfully alive. He couldn't see Eve at all. He tried to move to his friend but his left leg was trapped under a piece of the main console. He reached down to attempt to free his leg but a foot stepped on his hand and pressed down. He had enough time to look up and see Lucy looking down on him with dead eyes, then she kicked him in the head and then nothing.

He awoke some time later tied to a chair in a small and empty room. At first he thought he was alone until his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw Lucy standing in the corner.

"Lucy? Where are we?" she didn't answer. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Are you ok?" still nothing. The door opened and a sharp dressed man entered, bouncing a marble in his hand.

"AH! You're awake!" he said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Who are you?"

"I am the man that is going to change your life." He smiled, it made Hibiki's stomach turn.

"Sorry, but my life is just fine thanks."

"Well, you think that it's fine, but you really need help. And the help you need I can give to you." He began tossing the marble back and forth between his hands.

"I don't need help from anyone, least of all you! Let me and Lucy go! Now!"

The man's expression turned sour for a moment before it brightened again. "Well, it was worth a shot." he smiled and leaned in close, holding the marble up to Hibiki's face. Do you see this? I love this thing. And thanks to Lucy here, I have perfected the fusion process."

"Fusion? Fusion to what?"

"Your brain!" he whispered harshly. "You see, with my sweet Lucy I had to break her first before this device would work properly. But now all I have to do is put a little of my power into it like this," the marble started to glow then he switched it to his other hand and held it in his palm where the marble turned into some kind of thick liquid. "And now all I have to do is place it at your eye here, at the tear duct, and after that anything I tell you to do…you will do. I will have total control over you."

"Why me" Why would you want someone like me? I'm not even very powerful!"

"You're right, you're not very powerful. But that Archive magic of yours will come in very handy. So do yourself a favor and try not to squirm, it will just make it hurt more." He placed the liquefied marble where he said he would and Hibiki screamed as he felt it slide into his eye.


	14. Chapter 14: When the war begins

Lucy stood atop a cliff not far from Clover City staring out at nothing. Her orders were to wait for now, but the air around her seemed to press down on her skin in an uncomfortable way. Had she not been under Eagen's total control she would have left hours ago.

Hibiki stood behind her, his hands in his pockets as he waited with Lucy. "Are you certain this is the location?" she asked.

"Archive scan was complete with a 97% accuracy." He gave her the same dead voice. Lucy didn't need to say anything else. Idle chatter wasn't allowed, so they went back to standing in silence.

Two hours later, the air changed around them. There was a shimmering in the sky just ahead of Lucy and then a 'shifting' as a blackness formed into the shape of a door. They then watched calmly as a figure emerged, then another, and then another. The first one regarded the two with disdain. "Where's Eagen?" he demanded.

"Master Eagen is at headquarters. Our orders were to wait for you and your people, then escort all of you to him." Lucy said.

He spat at her feet then turned to watch his people continue to spill out of the door. "How much room does he have at this headquarters?"

"Enough."

"I have over 200 soldiers with me, little girl, I need to know if that idiot can take us in like he promised." He sneered and spat again.

"There are 12 more doors to be opened, my Lord, and two were opened before yours that have already been seen you. Your group is the smallest of when we have now, and what is still to come."

He narrowed his eyes at her, then moved past. "Don't call me 'my Lord', my name is Deacon."

Once the last of the group had come through, Lucy waited until the door was gone, but the shimmering in the air remained. It indicated that the door could be reopened at some later date, as Master Eagen had explained. Lucy and Hibiki didn't care. They left the cliff to lead the new group back to their master.

Back at headquarters, Eagen was irritated. So far, the only people that answered his call were not the one he truly wanted. Although Shar was close enough to being what he wanted. She wasn't good at giving orders but more than made up for that with her bloodlust.

He watched her as she sat in a corner knees drawn up as she perched on the edge of a chair, her beady eyes taking in every detail of the people around her. He people were perched just as she was, on various pieces of furniture, but they only watcher their leader. As the people walked by her, they skirted wide of her, afraid of her already. They had good reason, she had killed three people just since she got there. Her hands were perpetually stained with blood. Shar didn't care about any cause, she just wanted to kill people.

What really irritated Eagen the most at the moment was the fact that they were back yet. The door was supposed to have opened right away when they got there, meaning they should have been back hours ago. If something went wrong, he was going to have to punish his pets severely. Orders were meant to be obeyed.

"We have returned Master." Her voice called out to him. He whirled around and saw her entering with the boy and Deacon right behind them. He took long strides over to them then promptly slapped Lucy across the face.

"Where in the hell have you been? You should have been back hours ago!" He screamed at her as she just stared blankly at him with a bit of blood dripping down her chin.

"This one is sorry master. The door did not open when we calculated it would."

"So the timing was wrong." He rounded on Hibiki with a kick to the chest that knocked him back against the wall. He calmly stood back up, showing no signs of pain.

"This one's archives gave the information with a 97% accuracy. There was a 3% chance of error."

Eagen wanted to hit the moron again but decided to restrain when the third leader walked up. He was the first one to arrive. Kai was like Shar when it came to fighting, but he at least knew more about being a leader.

"Whatever, I guess we should get started since everyone is here for now." Eagen motioned for Shar to join them and she did reluctantly. "Welcome, my friends to Earthland. This is a very special world where our future still awaits us."

"What happened to the emperor?" Kai said softly, he always spoke softly and it always annoyed Eagen.

"Still in our world, our old world now. This is our new world my friends! One with plenty of magic and people to control."

"We already have magic. Why would we want theirs?"

"It's not about taking their magic. It's about controlling it and using it the way we want to. The people here no nothing about using their power. They squander it but helping people and other stupid shit like that. We are going to change that." Kai gave him a malicious grin. "This evening, we will begin our offensive on some of the strongest of these so-called wizards."

Shar gave a shriek of excitement and slapped her thigh with her baton she always carried with her.

"Hibiki, give them the maps to the locations I name. Shar, I want you to head to the guild known as Mermaid Heel. Kai, you will go to the guild known as Sabertooth, and Deacon you will go to the guild known as Lamia Scale. Once there, I want you and your people to kill them all."

They each gave a sign of acknowledgement as Hibiki uploaded the maps to the three guilds into the heads of each of the leaders. "Tonight, this war will begin. Go, prepare your people and be on your way before the hour is up." They left with quick bows and large smiles.

Eagen grew bored as soon as they were all gone. He noticed only Lucy and Hibiki were left in the room. HE sat down in a large armchair and then undid his pants and pulled himself out. "Lucy!" he barked, then snapped his fingers and pointed to his lap. Lucy calmly glided over and knelt down. As she went to work he let his mind wander.

With this was beginning, he could finally see the end of his journey. He was finally going to get what had been promised to him all those years ago. That crown was going to be his, and he didn't care who he hurt in the process.


	15. Chapter 15: I'm not dead yet!

Kagura sat behind the bar and watched Millianna as she grilled some fish for the local customers. On the inside, she was smiling at the other woman. Thinking about how much she had grown in the time she had known her. On the outside though, she was just as stoic as ever. It really very peaceful there now, with no real enemy to fight. It all made Kagura quite bored.

Beth walked up them, head down and a concerned look in her eyes. "Hey, did ya'll hear the news?" she asked, her drawl of an accent low so she didn't draw too much attention.

"What news?" Kagura asked. Millianna turned half her body so she could listen in and still watched the food on the grill.

"Someone attacked Fairy Tail."

"What?" Millianna shouted, she then shouted again as she dropped the tongs she was using to turn the fish on the grill grate.

"Master says they are fine, but then someone attacked Blue Pegasus and now one of their members is missin!" She had leaned in closer to say the other bit of news. There was just a touch of fear in her eyes now.

"Do you know who it is?" Kagura inquired.

"Hibiki Lates."

"Hibiki? Who would want that womanizer?" Kagura sat there and thought about it though. With the power he had, if the man was tortured enough he could possibly be forced to give out serious information about the guilds and even the council. "That said, something doesn't feel right about all of this."

"Master said the same…"

When her words cut off, Kagura looked up at her to urge her to keep talking but the words died in her throat. There was a gaping hole in her chest big enough to see through. Suddenly, Millianna screamed as the grill in front of her exploded sending fish and ret hot coals flying into the woman's face. As Beth fell to the ground, Kagura felt a growl building deep in her chest. She dove to cover her friend from the threat she couldn't see as more explosions started to sound around her.

A woman chose that moment to jump on top of the bar and leer down at them. "I am Shar," she said, her voice slithering out of her mouth like a snake on dry grass. "I am here to kill all of you." A shiver ran down Kagura's spine, from both fear and also anger.

"If you want to kill us," she snarled at this strange woman, "Then take your best shot!" she drew her sword.

At Sabertooth, the battle was already in full swing. The wizards of the guild were all strong, but they found themselves being overpowered. Lector and Frosch clung to themselves as Yukino stood guard ahead of them. She was already breathing heavily from exertion.

"How?" she mused to herself as she watched the destruction around her. "How are we being overpowered to easily?" She could seem them all struggling and her heart was starting to sink.

"Fro is scared." The exceed stated.

"Don't worry, Sting will take care of these guys in no time." Lector told him, although his own voice shook just as much as his body did.

Yukino wanted to reassure the two of them, but she didn't think she could. She could hear Sting calling out for Rouge somewhere off in the distance, and it did not sound like a call of victory. Suddenly, there was an explosion right by their feet that tossed the three in different directions. When Yukino stood back up, there was one of the attackers standing above Lector, hand already pressed to the top on the exceed's head. "NO!" she shouted out as she aimed a kick to the man's head.

He dodged it with a backflip and a roll and then turned his attention to the woman. "Lector, Frosch, you two need to get out of here." The stumbled back, not taking their eyes off of their friend.

"But, Yukino…"

"No, Lector! I will take care of you, just get out of here!" She didn't wait to see if they left, then she called Libra out and had her flatten the man to the ground. At first she thought it was going to work, but then he just laughed and stood back up. He aimed a series of explosions at the celestial spirit but she jumped out of the way and then used her magic to pin him against the wall as Yukino went in from the other side. She intent was to get him on the head, but he just turned his eyes to her.

Before he could get an attack off, Rufus sent the man flying back through the wall. Yukino smiled her thanks at the man but then the ground heaved and threw them both into the air. When the dust settled, she felt a moment of relief when she was Rufus was still there, but then screamed when she realized it was just his head.

Nothing moved at the Lamia Scale guild hall. Deacon walked among the debris and bodies like they were nothing to him. Why Eagen wanted this guild taken down was a mystery to him, they weren't even strong enough to take on him and his 25 men.

He could hear a faint groaning on his left that caught his attention so he made his way over to it. There, he found a silver-haired young man half buried under a section of wall. When the young man opened his eyes, there was a look of defiance there. "Are you just going to stand there?" he said as blood started to pour out of his mouth. "Or are you going to fight me?"

"There isn't much point in fighting a dying man."

"I'm not dead yet! I can still fight you, you bastard!"

Deacon sighed and raised his left hand to give the man a finishing blow. There was no honor in it, but he felt the man wouldn't shut up otherwise. Suddenly, a rock wall shot up between the two. Deacon searched around for the creator of the wall and found a tall and dark man standing a way off with his hands raised in front of him and fingers in a strange formation.

"If there is no point in fighting a dying man," he rumbled out in a think and deep voice, "then why kill one that cannot fight back?"

"I guess I feel…pity."

"Pity? You are the one that put him there in the first place!" He flashed his fingers into another strange formation and several rock columns shot up from under Deacon's feet.

He jumped out of the way and sent his own attack at the man at the same time, not even caring that some of them were in the area of the young man under the wall. "Do not assume to know us, wizard. We are not all what you think we are."

"Then show me what you are!"

Little Asuka walked just out of eye sight of her parents as she held up her toy gun and shot at the birds that flew above her. Her mommy and daddy said that they needed a break from the high emotions of the guild, but Asuka didn't know what that meant, and she didn't care. All she cared about was her target practice.

The little girl didn't even hear the steps of Lucy and Hibiki as the followed her from a distance


	16. Chapter 16: Why is mommy sleeping?

Kagura wiped the blood from her chin as she stumbled back to her feet. Without the sun it was harder to tell where her attacker would strike next, but she never gave up the fight. Millianna was still trying, but her power wasn't the best suited for this particular fight.

A split second, a slight shift in the wind, was all the warning she had before the woman came back again. Kagura jumped back and used her gravity magic to press the woman to the ground but she just ignored it, again.

She cackled as she sent yet another wave of explosions directly at her. Kagura waited until the last moment, then leapt out of the way. She prepared herself to charge with her sword again but stopped herself when she saw the woman kneeling over Millianna as she was lying face down on the ground.

"What do you want?" Kagura asked.

"I already told you! I am here to kill you!" she put her hand on Millianna's back and dug her fingers in around her spine. The woman twitched and groaned as Kagura saw the other woman's fingers sink all the way into her friend's skin and the she wrapped her fingers around Millianna's spine. As this happened, she opened her eyes to give her mentor a pleading look. In one swift motion, the woman twisted her wrist and broke her spine.

Kagura saw red as she charged and swept her sword down. The woman avoided it then reached up and touched Kagura on her right shoulder. Pain bloomed throughout the area and she fell back. The last thing she remembered was the sound of evil laughter, then darkness.

Makarov sat with his back against the tree and a communication lacrima that had been salvaged from the guild hall in front of him. For the past several hours he had been trying to get in touch with several guilds, but no one would answer. "Erza! Go find the Connells and bring them back."

"Yes sir." She headed out, and for some reason Mira followed her. Once they were out of sight, the lacrima began to buzz and glowed a light red color.

"Attention wizard guilds of Fiore." A voice sounded, it was deep and commanding but no one there recognized it. "Due to the recent attacks the magic council has declared a state of emergency and urge all wizards to remain in their guild halls. If your guild has any wizards in the field, recall them at once. I repeat, all wizards are to stay in their guild halls until further notice. In addition, if any wizard has information on the members of the following guilds they are to contact the council immediately. The guilds are: Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale. That is all for now."

As the voice and red color faded out, the entire area around Makarov was silent.

"What are we going to do?" Macao asked.

He thought for a moment, weighing the options in his head. "Fairy Tail will not sit idly by while our friends are in trouble. I will send out groups to guilds and help our people." He turned to the healer. "I know I have no right to ask this of you."

She smiled at him then turned away and started to walk off. "I know, I know. Bring them to my place, I will be ready."

Little Asuka quietly stalked a rabbit. Her father had checked on her just a moment ago, then he left her alone again with her prey. The rabbit had stopped by a fallen branch to nibble on some grass so the child took that moment to aim her toy gun. Instead of getting a good shot in, she stepped on a twig and scared the rabbit away.

She pouted as the rabbit hopped off, but then heard her mother calling for her. She turned to run over but tripped on a small tree root. She expected to hit the ground, so she was truly surprised when she hit a person instead. Asuka looked up and saw Lucy staring down at her.

"Lucy! You're here! We miss you!" She cried out as she threw her tiny arms around the woman's legs. Lucy placed a hand on the girl's head and pushed her back. When Asuka looked up she saw that Lucy was crying. "Why are you crying?"

She didn't answer, she just took hold of the girl's vest and pulled her up on her toes. She then placed her other hand on the girl's face. She stood there like that for what seemed like the longest time, which started to frighten little Asuka. "Lucy" she asked, her voice starting to tremble.

Lucy dropped the girl and bounced back as a gunshot sounded. She saw Alzack, gun aimed right at her. She reached back to draw her sword but a second shot hit her hand and covered it with mud.

"Asuka! Run back to the guild. NOW!" Bisca shouted. The girl ran.

"You are not supposed to be here." Lucy stated. Her cold voice seeming to infuriate Bisca.

"You went after my daughter. You bet your ass I should have come here!"

"I know you're still in there Lucy." Alzack said. "The tears on your face say loud and clear that you don't want to do whatever is you were told to do."

Lucy reached up to touch her cheek and pull away wet finger tips. She looked at them, no emotion showing. "These are the emotions of one that no longer exists. This one feels nothing."

"Really?" Bisca said, "Then you won't feel this." She fired, but the shot his above Lucy's head. Alzack screamed as he saw Hibiki behind his wife, a knife placed right between her shoulder blades. Bisca dropped the gun and fell to the ground as Hibiki pull the knife out.

He reared back to stab her again but Alzack got him in the head with a stunning shot. He was still screaming as he ran up to the prone Hibiki and placed his gun directly on the other man's forehead.

Lucy got to him first. With her hand on the back of his head, she released a blast of power. Alzack dropped to the ground next to his wife, twitched once, and was still. Lucy reached down and grabbed Hibiki by his foot and pulled him away.

Bisca opened her eyes and saw her husband staring blankly at her from a few inches away. She reached her hand to his and entwined her weak fingers with his as she coughed up blood. As her eyes closed she thought, _We are together and Asuka is safe. It is enough._

Erza and Mira had been searching for the Connell family for about 20 minutes now. They were about to start getting worried when they heard a faint crying from just ahead of them. They followed the sound and instantly regretted it.

Little Asuka sat between her parents on the ground, vigorously shaking her mother. When she heard the other two, she turned to eyes to them.

"Why are mommy daddy sleeping? We have to go find Lucy! We can't find Lucy if they don't get up!" she turned back to her parent and began to pound on both of their backs. "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Come on! You have to wake up!" She hit them over and over until Erza couldn't take it anymore and picked her up. The girl's fingers were surprisingly strong as she clung to her mother's vest, so it took some effort for her to pry them off.

Erza wanted to scream, she wanted to summon every single sword in her arsenal and demolish everything in sight. Instead, she sat on the ground and sobbed with a child that just watched her parents die.


	17. Chapter 17: They will pay for this

Jura opened his eyes and blinked as the sun rose above the buildings around him. He took out a rag and wiped the sweat from his face and head, then returned to his task. Since the attackers left, Jura spent the time since sifting through the ruins for survivors. So far all he was able to find was Lyon, Toby and Yuka. Of those three Yuka was the only one still able to stand.

They were safe in an abandoned building with Yuka doing his best to care for them, but what they really needed was a healer. Which was one of the reasons he was still out there searching.

So far, there had been no signs of Sherry or Shelia, but he refused to give up.

He bent down to lift a beam out of the way then froze at the sound of footsteps behind him. He thought it might be the attackers returning, and was going to try for another witty remark, but changed his mind and simply turned around. What he saw nearly made him pass out in relief.

"What the hell happened?" Gray asked, his eyes staring all around him in disbelief.

"A slaughter. That is what happened." Jura sat down hard on the beam he had just been about to move.

"Is anyone else alive?"

"A few. We had many out on jobs, and several managed to escape. I have been looking to see if I can find anyone in this mess." He motioned to the destruction around him.

"Lyon?"

"He's alive. Barely."

Gray exhaled loudly like he had been holding his breath. "Where is he?"

"Safe for now, but I need to find Shelia. If she's still alive she might be the only pne who can save him."

"On it." Warren stepped forward, his two fingers raised to his temple and his face aimed at the ruins. He said nothing but the entire party was tense. Gray, Juvia, and Max wanted to shout at the man to hurry, but knew it would do no good. "Got her." He pointed straight ahead then took off.

They followed him then they soon reached the edge of where the guild hall was supposed to be and started to dig. Finally, they found them. There was a problem though, Shelia wasn't going to be healing anyone any time soon.

The girls were alive, but covered in injuries. Shelia was unconscious but Sherry was going in and out, which was how Warren was able to find her.

"Now what?" Jura asked, mostly to himself.

"You are going to come back with us, all of you."

"Why?"

"Well, it's the main reason we were sent here. The council wants the guilds to shut themselves in the guild halls, but Master wanted us to find all of you and bring you to our healer if it was needed. Once we had you all together, we could try to figure out what is going on."

"Everyone shut up inside the guild halls?"

"That was the order, or recommendation, however you want to look at it."

"That doesn't make any sense. If ever wizard guild did that, it would just make them targets."

"Master Makarov mentioned that."

Jura looked down at the girls then stood, Sherry held tightly in his arms. "If someone would pick up Shelia, I will lead you to the others and then we can leave."

Some distance away, the Fairy Tail envoy arrived at what used to be the Mermaid Heel guild hall. Erza, still reeling from the day before, had already steeled herself to what she might see but it was still shocking. Her guild mates behind her let out gasps of shock and horror, but Erza just stood there. "Spread out and see if you can find any survivors."

They nodded and then fanned out. Wendy had a damp face as she set off with Carla, but Evergreen looked like she wanted to throw up. Erza didn't look at them as she set of herself, her own eyes searching and ears listening. She told herself over and over that she was looking for any survivor, but the truth was that only two were really important to her. And if they were dead, well she didn't want to think about that.

After three hours of searching and digging Erza was about to give up. All they had found were dead wizards. Right when she was going to speak up and call off the search Wendy shouted out.

"HERE! She's still alive!"

Erza ran like she had the wind at her back. When she reached Wendy, Erza began to cry as she put a hand to Kagura's head. The other woman made a noise and when Erza looked, her eyes were opening.

"Er…za?" she said with a weak voice.

"Yes Kagura. It's me."

"Millianna…" she shifter her eyes to the other side and they could just barely see feet under a pile of debris. Erza immediately jumped up and went over, fingers racing to uncover her friend. Bile bubbled up in her throat when she saw the damage to her back. She reached a trembling hand to Millianna's neck then collapsed with an audible sigh when she felt a pulse.

"Wendy, help her. Please."

The girl rushed over and hovered her hands over Millianna to begin healing.

"Will she be ok?" Erza asked, she noticed Kagura watching carefully.

"I think so, but I need to be very careful. It looks like someone tried to snap her spine, but it wasn't completely severed. If that had happened I think she would have died pretty quickly."

"Kagura sighed and closed her eyes. Erza sat back on her heels and kept looking back and forth between her two friends on the ground.

"What do you want us to do now?" Evergreen asked as she sat atop a chunk of wall. "Do we keep looking for survivors?"

"Don't bother." Kagura choked out.

"Why?"

"Because everyone else is dead."

"How can you be sure? I mean, there might be someone else hidden in the rubble."

"When I went down, I was the last one fighting. The ones that attacked us had even gone except for their leader. I held her off the best I could, but…"

"It's ok. "Erza told her "I'm sure you gave it your all."

"It's not that." She glanced back over to her friend and grimaced. "The way these people fought. I've never seen anything like it before. And their power, it…frightened me."

"Yes, we have seen their power." Erza closed her eyes for a moment as her mind went back to Lucy and what she did to their own guild hall.

"These peoples. Are they the ones that took Lucy?"

"More than likely, but we don't know for sure yet."

"Then you should know, they also took Hibiki Lates of Blue Pegasus."

"Hmm, with his magic" Erza mused "and their ability to control people like they are with Lucy, this could be a major problem."

"Which is what I was telling Beth when…" she snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes again. "They're dead. They're all dead."

"They will pay for this, I promise you they will." Erza gave her friend a look a determination that she didn't see. Kagura could head it in her voice though. She opened her eyes to give her a look just as fierce. "As soon as Wendy says Millianna can be moved, we will head out to Magnolia. There we will work on a way to stop these people."

"What if we can't" Wendy asked from her position.

"We will! No question about it!" The look she gave the girl left her without the ability to respond. Instead she pulled her hands away.

"She should be ok to travel now, but she still needs more healing."

"We can work on that on the road. Let's go, I want to make it back before dark."

They had to make a littler to carry Millianna, but once they had her on her feet Kagura was mostly steady. She still had to lean on Wendy a bit though. So they headed out, most with the determination to stop these people but Kagura had something else on her mind.

 _Shar! I will remember you!_


	18. Chapter 18: Only a few know

Natsu, Happy and Lisanna walked quietly through a city. All around them the people whispered as they passed. Natsu eyed a man that was loading a cart, he met his gaze for a moment but then quickly looked away.

"Are they afraid of us?" Lisanna asked. Instead of responding, Natsu sped up. He knew where they were and the guild hall was just up ahead.

"Natsu!" Lisanna had to run to keep up.

At the end of the street the three of them stopped and stared at the sight before them. The Sabertooth guild hall was gone.

"How is this even possible?" he whispered to himself. His thoughts drifted to the members of the guild. They were all so strong, he couldn't believe that this happened to them.

"It happened yesterday." A man said from behind them. They turned and Natsu recognized the man that was loading the cart.

"What happened?"

"They were attacked by more than a dozen people. Everything just exploded."

"What happened to the guild members?"

"Dead, or just gone from here. We heard something about the magic council giving the wizards of the country an order, but no one I know knows what that order was." He looked around, like he was making sure no one was listening in then moved in closer to Natsu and continued on in a whisper. "I did find one of them though. I took her to the hospital. Go down that street there and make a left at the third crossing, it's just down there. If you show the doctor your guild mark, he might let you see her. If she's still alive anyway." He dipped his head and then left as quietly as he came.

"Her?" Happy asked as soon as the man was gone.

"Yukino maybe. We won't know for sure unless we check it out."

"We should go. She can tell us what happened, and if she saw Lucy." Lisanna said.

She looked so fragile lying there. The doctor said she was lucky to be alive. Yukino was covered in bandages, and the parts of her that were exposed were a mess of bruises. She was breathing easily though, and her heart was beating at a steady pace. All they needed now was for her to wake up.

"If you are waiting for her to wake up you might be waiting for a while." A nurse walked in while they were all staring at her.

"Is it that bad?" Lisanna asked quietly.

"Her body is healing nicely, and most of her injuries are rather minor, but it's the head injury we are concerned about."

"What about Sabertooth, is there anyone else here from her guild?"

"No. We kept waiting for them to be brought in, but she was the only one. I did hear that some of them chased someone into the mountains not far from here."

Lisanna turned to Natsu who still had his eyes on the girl in the bed. "We should probably go look for them. We could at the very least let them know Yukino is alive." He didn't respond.

"Don't worry about her." The nurse said, sense his concern for the girl. "She's safe here. The only reason the doctor let you in is because he knows who you are. Otherwise no one is allowed in this room unless they need to be. In fact, only a handful of people know she's hear at all. Sabertooth has been good to us, especially recently. We will protect her the best we can."

"Good." Natsu finally said. "Make sure it stays that way. But also make sure her guild can get to her if they come."

"Yes sir. It's in our protocol list. While normally only the guild master would be allowed, but given the circumstance we have broadened it to any of her guild mates with the guild emblem and who say her name."

"Why add the name part?" Lisanna asked.

"Because a guild mark can be faked. This way we can know for sure whoever comes does in fact know her. The doctor and myself are the only people that know her name right now."

"Good. Lisanna, Happy, let's go."

They left the hospital at a brisk pace, heading out of the city. "Where are we going now?" Happy asked.

"To the mountains."

"Are we looking for Sabertooth then? Are we going to ask them if they saw Lucy?" Lisanna huffed as she struggled to keep up.

"Of course we are. But…" he stopped talking and then rounded on the two of them and then spoke with a low tone. "It's just like Erza said, the big picture."

"Big picture?"

"Something is going on here that doesn't smell right. I need to find those Sabertooth guys that ran off into the mountains and talk to them about what happened."

They reached the base of a small mountain that was really more like a large hill in very little time. Natsu kept lifting his face and sniffing the air. At one point he made a face at whatever it was he could smell. "What's wrong?" Happy asked.

"Nothing.:

"It's ok buddy, you can tell me."

"No, I mean it's nothing. Literally. I don't smell anything."

"Did they really come this way?"

"No idea."

"Then why are we going this way?"

"Because it's the way that I wanted to go."

Lisanna thought about that for a moment and tried to put a dragon slayer spin on it, even though it was Natsu here. "I know, you went this way because you knew that if Sting and Rogue were with the group that ran out here this is the way they would go?"

"Oh I get it!" Happy chimed in "Since they are all dragon slayers and they learned some of the same things like traveling and hiding and such they know how to find each other if they need to"

"No, actually this path is just easier and I'm too hungry to go a different way." Natsu kept going on until he realized he was walking by himself. He looked behind him to see Lisanna and Happy on the ground.

"It's so stupid" Lisanna groaned.

"Aye." Happy agreed. "But it is Natsu, so it's kinda on us for trying to put some logic to his thinking."

"I'm standing right here you know!" He shouted at them, but they just kept on grumbling. He decided the best thing was to keep moving, they could catch up later. He grinned to himself when he heard them running to catch him a few minutes later.

They walked on for a few hours without a single trace of the other guild." I think we should have gone the other way." Happy complained.

"Maybe, but I don't think we have enough money to feed him what he needs in order to go that other way." Lisanna said in a low voice, knowing full well that Natsu could hear her.

"You two do know that you didn't have to follow me right?" He snapped at them, feeling more than a little annoyed.

"Of course we had to follow you!" Happy whined "You would end up in jail if you didn't have people like us to keep you out of trouble."

Natsu took a deep breath to shout out at his friend but then froze when a gust of wind hit his face. He took another deep breath in through his nose then took off up wind.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Lisanna called out to him as Happy sprouted his wings and lifted her. They flew after him, they had to. Natsu was in a dead run around the base of the mountain. "NATSU!" Lisanna tried to get him to stop but he just ignored her.

He finally came to a halt at a narrow cave opening. He looked back at Lisanna as Happy set her back on the ground and winked, then slipped inside. They followed him reluctantly, thinking their friend had finally lost his mind then gasped when they heard voices.

"You guys look like shit." They heard Natsu say. When they reached where he stood, Lisanna wanted to cry as she gaped at the battered remnants of the Sabertooth guild.


	19. Chapter 19: Suck it up sweet cheeks!

Gajeel stopped in the middle of a small clearing, his nostrils flaring out as she sniffed the air around him. Behind him Jet and Droy were arguing again. Jet as usual was trying to talk his friend into going on a diet, but the other man kept yelling back that he WAS on a diet.

"Would you two knock it off!" Gajeel roared at them as he turned and then stomped over. "I am trying to concentrate over here and I can't do that with the two of you fighting like an old married couple!" He took a handful of Jet's jacket and pulled him up to stand nose to nose with Gajeel. "Got it?"

"Calm down Gajeel." Levy said from behind the boys. "We're almost there aren't we?" she smiled at him and he let go of Jet with a grunt.

"We aint going to the city." Gajeel growled as he set back on the path they had been taking.

"What? Why not?" Droy asked.

"Master told us to go to the guild hall." Jet cried out. They all had to jog to catch up with him, he didn't miss that fact as Levy saw the grin on his face.

"Cause my nose is telling me to go this way."

They said nothing but kept following him. Finally, he stopped at a narrow opening of a cave. He looked back at Droy who was looking at the opening like it was a monster. "I think I'll wait out here." He said in a small voice.

"Good idea. Let's go."

"Gajeel wait." Lilly said, speaking up for the first time in hours.

"What?"

"I don't think this is a good idea. I mean anything could be in there." The exceed was eyeing the cave cautiously, torn between wanting to go in and also wanting to not take unnecessary risks.

"Trust me. My nose is telling me that we got a friend in there. Even if he is a stubborn pain in the ass." He said nothing else as he took off inside the cave.

The others watched after him, confusion painting their faces. Levy then gasped and ran after him.

"Wait!" Jet called after her, then he too followed with a reluctant Lilly trailing behind. They caught up with him in a small opening with several people sitting around a tiny fire.

"I get it now." Lilly said as he looked on at the Sabertooth wizards. "You were following their scents."

"Well, kinda." Gajeel mumbled. "I mean I could smell them a little, but mainly I could smell…him. Where's Salamander?"

"They left not too long ago." Sting said. He was propped up against a rock with his torso covered in bandages.

"What were they doing here?" Levy asked as she sat between Sting and Minerva. "I thought Natsu, Happy and Lisanna were out looking for Lucy."

"They were, still are actually. But they came to town to talk to us and saw the guild hall, let's just say after that they had a whole new reason to talk to us." He reached down to lightly touch the bandages. "His biggest one being how we got our asses kicked to bad."

"It wasn't just you." Gajeel said quietly, causing every member of Sabertooth in the cave to sit up quickly.

"Who else?" Sting asked just as quietly.

"Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel. I don't know what condition they are in, but we were sent out to look for survivors."

Sting leaned back and closed his eyes. "We aim to stun the heavens. That's what our old guild master drilled into our heads. Our sole purpose was to be the strongest guild in all of Fiore, and just look at us now. It's pathetic."

"Oh boo hoo hoo!" Gajeel retorted. "So you got your ass kicked. Well suck it up sweet cheeks cause we got bigger problems!

Sting tried to yell back but one of his wounds decided that was a good time to twinge, causing Sting to grit his teeth. "What bigger problems."

"Three strong guilds were attacked." Levy said, placing a gentle hand on Gajeel's arm to get him to stand down. "Then the magic council sends a message to all other guilds to stay in their guild halls. Even telling them to recall wizards that are out in the field."

"That doesn't make any sense." Minerva said. "These people attacked us in our guild hall, why would the council tell people to stay in theirs?"

"Master Makarov asked the same question." Levy said carefully, keeping her eyes locked on the young guild master. He just sat there, trying to thing everything through. "I'll give you another hint that helped with our theory. Lucy attacked Fairy Tail a few days ago."

"Lucy?" Sting almost shouted. "We heard that you had been attacked, but no one said anything about who did it."

"That's because we didn't want anyone to know" Gajeel started, his eyes boring into Sting's. "Also…it wasn't Lucy."

"But she just said…"

"I know. It was Lucy, but at the same time it wasn't."

"How is that even possible?"

"It was her body, but the smell was off. And when she spoke it didn't even sound like her." Gajeel knelt down as he was eye level with Sting. "Then she attacked us with a power she isn't supposed to have."

"She went after us, her guild." Levy continued. "She always called us her family, and then she tried to kill us."

"Why would she do that?" Sting asked, almost to himself. "Unless…wait you said it was Lucy but wasn't." Gajeel nodded. "And her scent was off." Another nod. Sting fell silent again as he thought then it was like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Is someone controlling her with magic?"

"We think so." Levy said.

"If these people can control one person with magic, then they might be able to control anyone."

"We think so too."

"Do you think they have someone inside the council?"

"It would be the only logical reason for the they gave the guilds."

"We can't just sit here." Sting struggled to stand, then fell back down again.

"It's alright." Lilly said as he stepped up next to Gajeel. "Makarov is already working on notifying the other guilds of our theory." Lilly paused as he looked at Sting, another question coming into his head. "Before we go further, where are your exceeds?" Sting smiled for the first time since the Fairy Tail wizards got there. He reached over to what looked like a pile of old blankets and peeled a layer back to revel both Lector and Frosch, sound asleep.

"They took care of us when we first got to this cave." Rogue's said. He had been so quiet Levy and Jet actually forgot that he was there.

"I'm glad they are safe." Lilly said, he smiled as he looked at his exceed friends, then turned back to Gajeel. "I think we should head back now."

"Yeah, I know. Come on Sting, you're coming too."

"I was planning on it." He grinned.

"What about Yukino?" Rogue asked. Sting lost his grin.

"What wrong? Where's she at?" Gajeel asked.

"Some guy found Yukino and took her to the hospital in the city. Natsu actually saw her there, he said she's hurt pretty bad."

"Ok, bring her too."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely!" Levy chimed in. "We have Porlyuscia waiting for the injured and we will also have Wendy, once she gets back from Mermaid Heel. She'll be better in no time!"

Sting swung her head back and forth between Gajeel and Levy before an even bigger smile burst back onto his face. "When do we leave?"

Happy flew high above the trees, glad to be away from Natsu and Lisanna for the moment. Those two had been arguing since they left the Sabertooth guys about where they should go next. No one had any idea where to look, so they were just going to guess. The problem was both of them had a guess and thought the other should just go with it.

He sighed and closed his eyes with his head down. "Maybe we should have just stayed with the guild." When he opened his eyes back up something on the ground caught his attention. His curiosity got the better of his, he was a cat after all, so he dove down to get a better look.

He decided to land on a tree a little distance away and then hop from branch to branch until he was close enough to see. Someone might say he was acting a bit strange, but with all the crazy stuff happening lately, he didn't want to take any chances. And then, he found it. Or rather, he found her.

It was Lucy, and she wasn't alone.


	20. Chapter 20: The faces never stopped

Happy made sure he was mostly hidden behind the leaves of the branch he was on as he watched Lucy and Hibiki where they stood. He thought about going to them, but then another man appeared.

"Are you sure this is the place?" he asked, his voice deep and resounding.

"We are sure." She replied in her voice that made Happy shiver.

The man didn't say anything to that, he turned around and faced the other direction. "What about Eagen's plan? How sure are you about that working?"

"With no interference," Hibiki said, his voice matching Lucy's and making Happy shiver again, "there is a total chance of success. But my power does not deal with strategies, it only deals with information. Master Eagen is the one capable of the other part."

The man turned back and strode over to Hibiki, standing nose to nose with him. Happy thought he was going to hurt the wizard, but then he just smiles and ruffled his hair. "You are such a good little pet." He said, giggling as he turned to Lucy. "Where is Eagen sending you next?"

"This one is meeting her master at the city of Crocus."

"Why there?"

"It is this nation's capital."

"Oh, that makes sense I guess. We already infiltrated their magic council, might as well go after their capital now."

"Yes Lord Deacon."

"So while you guys take down the capital we are taking out the rest of the guilds, right?"

"Yes my Lord Deacon."

"Doesn't seem fair really. These people don't even stand a chance against us, and Eagen has us just taking them out one by one. I hate playing dirty." He spit on the ground when he paused, but he never looked back at Lucy. "I never did like the way Eagen did things. Hiding in the shadows and pitting people against their allies." He turned back to her then, looking her square in the eye. "How did it feel, when he sent you after your own guild?"

Lucy didn't move, she didn't say a word either. At least that's what Happy thought at first. Then he could see her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides and her lips drawn taut like she was fighting her own mouth. Deacon saw this, he laughed and turned back around.

"It would seem that Eagen's favorite pet isn't as much under his control as he thought. Don't worry, I promise I won't tell your master anything."

Lucy seemed to relax at those words, even though Happy heard nothing from his position. He had enough at this point, he couldn't stand there and listen to them anymore. So as quietly as he could he took back to the sky to hunt for Natsu and tell him everything he heard.

Happy found Natsu and Lisanna in no time, he dove down directly at his friend and crashed into his chest. As soon as he made impact his mouth opened and the words came spilling out as fast and his as his cat lips could move. "NATSU! I saw Lucy! And Hibiki was there and he sounded like Lucy and there was this other guy and they sais stuff like they have someone in the council now and they are going to Crocus and…" he reached up to grasp Natsu's face in his little paws. "We have to hurry Natsu!" he finally stopped, and stared at his friend as he panted to catch his breath.

"Happy." Natsu said quietly.

"WHAT!" Happy yelled in his friend's face.

"Turn around."

Happy did so reluctantly and then screamed when he did. "When did they get here?" he shouted, his paw raised to point at the group standing a few feet away.

"Only a few moments ago." Jellal said in his smooth voice. "Did you say these people have someone in the council?"

"Yeah! Well, he said they infiltrated the council."

Jellal narrowed his eyes at the exceed. "It all makes more sense now."

"What is it?" Meldy asked

"The order for the wizard guilds to gather in the guild halls and stay there never made sense given the fact that four guilds were attacked in their guild halls."

"Four?" Happy asked.

"Yes. Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, and Fairy Tail." He raised his hand to his chin in contemplation. "And with the other guilds shut up, it would just make it easier for the other guys to take them out."

"They said that!" Happy yelled. He called his wings back out and flew over to Jellal. "He said they were going after the guilds when Lucy and some other guy went to Crocus!"

"When?" Jellal asked, his tone leaving no room for Happy to back away.

"I don't know! They didn't say, but it has to be soon. Lucy said that going to Crocus was the next thing she had to do."

"This is bad, Jellal." Meldy said with a touch of a tremor in her voice.

"I know, we have to warn the people."

"How? There's too many people and not enough time!"

Natsu took that moment to grab Happy's tail and swing him around. "Natsu!" he cried out as he was flung over to Lisanna.

"Let's get moving."

"Where are you going?" Jellal asked."

"If Lucy is going to Crocus, then so are we."

"Meldy." Jellal said, turned back to her. "I want you and the other to split up and warn as many guilds as you can."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to the capital. I think that might be where this situation will boil over at and I can be the most use there." Natsu stopped and looked back at the man as he spoke, he in turn smiled back at Natsu. "Besides, I think if I don't go with Natsu he will probably end up burning the entire city to the ground."

"That only happened once!" Natsu retorted.

"Really?" Lisanna questioned. "I heard the number was actually a lot higher than that."

"It's not!"

"Natsu." Jellal touched his arm, "Do you realize what we are up against?"

"I've seen what they can do." Natsu gave him a blank face. "But are you sure you want to travel with me?"

Jellal just smiled at him. He turned back to Meldy who looked ready to follow them. "Go! Warn he guilds. This fight is just getting started and is they aren't ready then we have already lost."

She sighed but agreed and then left with the others. Once they were gone Natsu shrugged the other man's arm off and glared at him. "Just so we are clear…" he started.

"I know; I will not touch Lucy." Jellal gave him a small smile then started walking away. Natsu and his friends caught up but kept silent. Only one thing went through his head, and that was Lucy.

Lucy and Hibiki walked in silence. Their last order completed they now headed to the capital. With each step she took, a jolt of…something shot up from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head. A voice in the back of her head told her that jolt was fear, but she ignored it. She actually had one more order to do, and it was one she was unconsciously delaying.

 _Once the last group is here and you are on your way_

 _to Crocus, I want you to take care of Hibiki. I don't need_

 _him anymore._

Step…jolt…step…jolt. Her body began to get more and more stiff with every step she took. She had an order, she had to obey that order. Unfortunately her body was acting on its own. She stopped walking and waited for Hibiki to reach her. When he got to her he stopped, facing her like he was waiting for her to tell him something.

Lucy faced him and her hands raised on their own. Her mouth started to move and a sound escaped that she couldn't stop when her hands touched his jaw. In one swift motion, she broke his neck.

Hibiki fell to the ground like a limp doll and Lucy screamed. Her body turned back and began to walk again. With every step now a faint sound could be heard coming from her mouth. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" on and on, for miles their faces appeared in her mind and she apologized to each one over and over again. Hibiki, Natsu, Erza, Mira, Asuka, Bisca, Alzack. Their faces never stopped, but neither did her feet.


	21. Chapter 21: Time for a new world

Natsu had forgotten how large the city was. The three of them had been walking around for almost two days with no luck of finding Lucy, or any hint at all of whatever was going to happen. Jellal took off as soon as they got there, so they didn't even have him to help look for her.

It was all so frustrating. Everyone walked around him with smiled without a single care in the world, but Natsu knew something bad was coming. But the thing that bugged him the most was, where were the guilds? He thought they would have shown up to help fight these people but so far had hadn't seen anyone.

One thing he almost noticed though, several of the streets they walked down today Natsu could see some shadows that were always just out of the corner of his eye. Any time he turned his head to try to catch a glimpse they would be gone, but the second he turned back they came back. It unsettled him, sure, but another thing for this day that unsettled him was a constant rumble he could feel below the city. It was slight enough that a normal human wouldn't feel it, but since he woke for the day Natsu could. He had a feeling today was going to be a long day.

Jellal managed to sneak into the palace the night before. He watched through a small crack in the ceiling as the king and his daughter talked with someone about a dispute of some kind. He wanted to sigh. This was so boring, but if something was going to happen in the city it would probably start, or at least end, here. It wasn't that he wanted to be the big hero or anything like that. He just figured that the main power would strike here, with the king. With Natsu preoccupied with finding Lucy, it was up to him to protect the king.

So he sat and he watched and he waited. There was a faint rumble he could feel underneath the ground, or rather he could sense it. It was almost like he could feel some massive power building up. If this power reached its climax, Jellal had a feeling that the entire city would go up in flames.

They got the warnings. They were ready. Makarov stood next to Blue Pegasus' guild master Bob a few blocks away from the guild hall in an empty building. After a long talk with the city's mayor he finally agreed to evacuate the entire area the day before. It wasn't enough though. Makarov had seen first-hand the damage these people could do. The wizards around him were ready to fight, but how many would die?

Deep beneath the city of Crocus, Lucy stood next to Eagen as he watched his army of almost 6,000 prepare for their next strike. There was a smile on his face that would make a normal person quiver in fear.

Half of his army was already, their jobs being elsewhere. But he made sure most of his strongest were here. His smile took in all of his people, and all of his plans.

Lucy wanted to run. Her thoughts were partially her own now, but her body still wasn't her to command. Eagen threw an arm around her shoulders with a hand resting on one of her breasts. Inside, Lucy quivered with disgust. On the outside she was completely still.

"It's all coming together my sweet girl." His voice glided over her like the smile on a slug. "Soon, I will have everything."

She wanted to kick him in the face, but she couldn't. She waited until he left to start giving more direct orders so she could catch her breath. She already had her orders, but they were so vague that she didn't really understand why he gave them to her. They gave her a bit of freedom though, as her orders were simply to guard the front gate to the palace. Coming from him, it was an odd order. It was too easy.

She reigned in her thoughts as Eagen came back over to her. "It's time." He said with a glint of something dark in his eyes. "Get to your post." With one shove, Lucy was in motion. Once again her feet betrayed her as they took her somewhere she didn't want to go.

Natsu edged his way around the wall surrounding the palace. Happy and Lisanna were on the next street over keeping an eye out over there. If they thought something was going to happen, then Happy was supposed to fly right over and report in. So far, everything was still quiet.

He came around another curve in the wall and found that he could see the main gate with a group of guards standing there. He was about to move away and go back when a shadow in the corner of his eye caught his attention again. He tried to see it, but again when he turned it was gone. He turned his head back. He had to. Because the front gate blew up. Along with several other streets throughout the city.

The force of the blast took Natsu from his feet for a moment, but not for very long. He got back up and ran for the gate. It wasn't hard to see the person responsible. Her sword was out and swinging at the guards. Before she could bring the blade down to kill the last guard Natsu caught her arm with a firm grip.

"Heya Lucy. Been a while."

Makarov felt the power before he saw the guild hall blow up. One minute it was there, and the next it was raining debris all over the area that had been evacuated. No one moved an inch.

When the debris stopped falling, still they just watched. Makarov kept his focus on the guild hall. The silence was deafening as they waited. It was almost too much to handle. But then, finally someone was walking into the area.

He looked around and pushed some of the rubble around with his foot, then lifted his head and let out a high-pitched whistle. When he did several more people appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. Makarov couldn't hear what was said, but he could see their shoulders get ridged, then they vanished. The man turned his head and surprised Makarov by looking directly at their building, then he too vanished.

The people standing with him jumped and prepared to fight when the man suddenly appeared in the middle of their room. Makarov raised his hands to tell his friends to stand down as he stared at this guy. "Where are the rest of your people?" he asked.

"Gone" the man replied, keeping his eyes only on Makarov. "I wanted to be able to talk to you without them hanging around."

"Why? Why would you want to talk to us when all you and your people wanted to do before was kill us?"

"Not me." He said sadly. "I never wanted to hurt anyone. But Eagen, his hold over me is strong, or was."

"Why now?"

"Lucy."

"Lucy?"

"Yes. I saw what he did to her. I was the one that had to heal her all the time. Then when he had total control over her, I could still see her fighting back. I figured if she could fight back, then I could too. So hello, my name is Connor, and I am surrendering myself over to you."

Eagen kicked open the doors to the throne room with ease and strode in with a horde of his soldiers following behind him. King Toma E Fiore stood up from his seat in a rage. "Who do you think you are! Barging in here like this! It is an outrage! Guards! Arrest them all! That is an order!"

The guards rushed in only to be blown back by a wave of power. The guards tried to get back up, but another wave of power took them down once again, and this time none of the moved. Eagen laughed as he stopped walking just 10 feet away from the king. "You asked me who I thought I was. Well, I am the man that is going to take your kingdom from you."

"The magic council and the wizards of Fiore will stop you if I cannot!"

"Right now, the magic council is being obliterated. The same thing with the wizards. My people are scattered all across this stupid continent killing all of your precious wizards."

Hisui pressed her hands to her mouth as she stood next to her father. She had friends out there. Where they now dead?

"Now." Eagen said with a wicked grin. "I think it's time for you to step aside so some new blood can take over."

The king and the princess only had time to widen their eyed is surprise before a blast rocked the entire room. Smoke and dust covered the area so no one could see a thing, and but the time it cleared both of the thrones were gone and there was a gaping hole in the floor. There was no sign of the king, or of his daughter.

Natsu skidded and slid along the ground until he slammed against a wall. He grimaced as he shook his hand out and then stood back up. This fight wasn't going the way he had hoped it would. Every time he thought he saw an opening where he could get a hold of Lucy she would slam that opening shut. All he could so at the moment was defend himself as he tried to think of a way to stop her without seriously hurting her.

"NATSU!" Happy shouted as he dropped Lisanna to the ground right next to him.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, keeping his eyes focused on Lucy.

"We heard the noise over here and wanted to help." Lisanna stated. "Once the people started to fight and blow stuff up the citizens took off. There's nothing to watch over there now."

"We want to help with Lucy." Happy said. Natsu could hear the determination in his little buddy's voice, and it made him smile.

"Just stay close. She's strong, so don't take any unnecessary chances." He stepped forward and slammed his fists together, releasing his fire in a ring around the front of his body. "I'm fired up now."

Natsu charged, aiming a flaming fist directly at Lucy's face. She twisted only to take a hit from Lisanna on the other side. She had transformed into her cat take-over form and snuck up on her while Natsu took her head on. Before Lucy could recover Natsu got a grip on her hair and pulled her around so her face could meet his fist. She staggered back and lost her hold of her sword as it clattered to the ground. She looked up at Natsu and he could see her eyes, they held a touch of fear. He almost stopped, almost shouted to Lisanna to back off, but he couldn't. Lucy raised a hand to Natsu, but Lisanna aimed a strong kick square at her chest.

Lucy staggered back again, but Natsu sent his own kick to her gut and then she hit the ground. They waited for her to get up, but when she didn't they dropped to the ground in relief.

"Now what?" Happy asked.

"Now we tie her up." Natsu told him. "And then we take her somewhere where we can get our Lucy back." They nodded and stood to gather what was needed. Soon enough, they were walking out of Crocus with a bound and unconscious Lucy thrown over his shoulder.

Natsu didn't look back once, one even when a loud and booming voice sounded that he felt could be heard all over Fiore.

"Attention people of Fiore. You are now under new ruling.

And as your new king, I have a few decrees. The first one is that

all wizard guilds are hereby disbanded and any one seen wearing

a guild emblem will be executed on sight. Anyone seen using magic

at all will be executed on sight. It is time for a new world my new friends,

and I am proud to be the one to lead you now."


	22. Chapter 22: One month later

One month.

It had been one full month since Eagen took the crown and declared himself the King of Fiore. At first the citizens were confused. But then the reality sunk in and they became angry. They formed mobs of thousands and marched on Crocus, hell bent on taking their home back. Nine days. They began their assault with gusto and heart, but after nine days the streets of Crocus ran red.

After that, the people in Fiore spent their time trying to find the wizards. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, were already dead now because of the decree but the people knew that they were still out there. They needed to find them, and get them to rally together and take this guy down. But they could not be found.

The people of Fiore were beginning to lose hope. They wanted their home back, but it seemed like the people they had always counted on had now abandoned them.

In a forest at the edge of a canyon, Natsu was sulking. At least that's what Lisanna said he was doing. He preferred to call it emotional thinking. Happy sat on a tree stump and watched Natsu while he munched on a fish with amused eyes. Happy didn't have any problems like Natsu did, so he just sat there and enjoyed his fish, and the look on his friends face as he sulked on his own stump.

"Are you still sulking?" Lisanna asked as she came back into sight holding a length of rope in her hand. When you followed the rope it led to the bound hands of the woman that followed Lisanna.

"I still think I should have gone with you." He grumbled.

"Yeah right! Like we would let you watch her go to the bathroom! You really are a perv!" Lisanna swung the rope a bit and Natsu's went to the other woman automatically.

She was too skinny, and the bags under her eyes said she still wasn't sleeping well. Her skin was pale, almost like the color had been washed out and her usually full hair was thin and brittle. Her hands that were tied together in front of her with her fingers woven together were a sight as well with her nails chewed down to stubs. Just looking at her broke his heart.

"Natsu?" Lisanna waved a hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it. Lucy had taken her usual place on the ground in front of his and just watched them calmly.

"I think it's time for us to find everyone." He said, intending it to be just for Lucy. She didn't give him any reaction but he could hear her heart speed up.

"Why now?" Happy asked as he finished his fish.

"Yeah! We've been out here for like a month now and we don't even know how much of Lucy is back." Lisanna sat next to Lucy and toyed with the rope in her hands.

"That's the problem." Natsu leaned forward and folded his hands in front of him as he gave Lucy a hard look. "We know that she's in there, we also know that she's fighting like hell. And the last thing we know for sure is that this guy still has this magic control think in her. You did say it was a lacrima, right?"

"Yes" Lucy answered softly. It may have been soft, but at least it was really her own voice.

"Good"

"Why is that good?" Lisanna asked.

"Because lacrimas can be removed. Which is why we need to find the guild. Maybe Porlyusica can help us get that damn thing out of her."

"Wow!" Happy said with his paws pressed to his mouth. "You actually have a good idea!" he yelled when Natsu threw a twig at him. Happy was about to retaliate but Natsu was already in motion. He pulled Lucy to her feet and reached behind his back to pull out a black sack.

Lucy reached her bound hands out to touch Natsu's arm. "You don't need to do that." She whispered. He had to look away from her frightened eyed in order to cover her head.

"I'm sorry, but you know that I do." He whispered back. "We can't risk any of those guys seeing you." He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. "Don't worry. We will have you back to normal in no time."

"I'll never be normal again." He could feel her body as it shook in his arms. Natsu knew what she meant. She remembered almost everything that had happened to her, and what she did. The reason she didn't sleep at night was because every time she did she would just wake right up screaming. She would usually just cry, but sometimes she also choked out some words, like last night. She woke up screaming again and kept crying and saying Alzack's name. She told us what happened.

There were two things that were currently on Natsu's list of thing he needed to do. The first one was to get his Lucy back. And the second was to turn Eagen into ash.

Deep in the canyons and far away from the city of Crocus, there was a collection of huts set against the canyon wall. In one of the huts an old man could be heard arguing with someone. The people milling around outside could hear him yelling but they were not scared of him. They were annoyed. They agreed with the person he was arguing with.

"Why does he keep doing this?" Jet asked as his gaze drifted back to the hut.

"Because he's tired of waiting." Levy told him. She added a few more twigs to the fire as Mira walked up with a pot of soup to cook. "I am too."

"We all are." Mira stated. She set the pot on the hooks that hang over the fire and sat next to Levy. "But we can't just rush into this."

"It's already been a month. How much longer do he want us to wait?" Jet grumbled.

Mira sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know we can't do anything until Mest and Connor get back."

"Connor." Jet's face turned dark when he said the name. "I still don't trust him."

"I know, even I am still uncertain about him. But he has been nothing but good to us since he surrendered to Master."

"That's another thing! Why would he do that? His people won!"

"Lucy." Levy whispered. Jet turned to her and his face softened. "He did it because of Lucy. Master told us that Lucy was trying to right back against the control and that made him want to fight back."

There was a crash and a yell from the hut that halted all conversation. The looked up as Makarov stormed out with Laxus right behind him. Both men looked ready to demolish a mountain. "That idiotic dragon slayer is going to get himself killed!" Makarov screamed at no one in particular. Laxus broke his mask of anger long enough for a quick smirk, but lost it just as quickly when his grandfather rounded on him. "And you! You were absolutely no help in there!"

"I agreed with you and told him to stand down! What more did you want from me?" he growled back at him. Even though he towered over the old man, you could still see that he deferred to him in the way that he still backed down.

Makarov huffed and turned back around to keep storming away. Laxus threw his hands up in the air and screamed to the sky. When he was dome, he turned his glare to Mira, Jet and Levy.

"Did that make you feel better?" Mira asked as she fought not to smile at him.

"Yes, and no." he made his way over to them and sat down. "I understand why we are waiting. I don't like it, but I do understand it."

"Have you heard anything from Mest yet?"

"Not recently. The last message we got was over a week ago. They almost had the location of the main base of operations outside of Crocus, but there was an issue."

"What kind of issue?"

"No idea, he didn't say what it was and we haven't heard anything from them since." He stared into the fire and a look of helplessness crossed his face. "People are still dying out there."

"We will stop them Laxus." Mira told him softly as she moved next to him and draped an arm across his shoulders. "Once we have all of the information we attack them head on. You know we will."

He gave her a look of gratitude and reached up to squeeze her hand. "Thanks. I needed that."

"It's no problem." Mira smiled wide as she looked at him. Laxus laughed, which made Mira blush and pull her arm away…then they started arguing.

Levy watched them with a lazy grin on her face while Jet watched Levy and was just confused.

Suddenly, all conversation cut off again when Mest popped into the middle of the encampment with Connor. He glanced around and saw Laxus who was now standing. "Where's Makarov?" Mest asked, his breathing labored as he fought to even it out.

"He just stomped off that way." Laxus pointed and Mest took in that direction.

Connor didn't follow him, instead he joined the others around the fire. "Was he arguing with Sting again?"

"Yeah." Laxus replied carefully. "He still wants revenge for his guild."

You can call him back and tell him that the wait is almost over."

They all sat up straight and leaned forward. Laxus sat back down and forced Connor to face him. "Did you find them? All of them?" he demanded with urgency.

Connor looked at Laxus, a malicious grin creeping onto his face. "We found them all."

Laxus returned the grin. "Excellent!"


	23. Chapter 23: We can't change the past

The Fairy Tail encampment was totally silent as the guild master met with Mest and Connor in private. Everyone had gathered outside of the hut and stared, most holding their breath as they waited for them to come out. This was the moment they had been waiting for, the news that would put them in motion for the first time in a month and hopefully be able to take these people down.

"What's going on?" Nastu asked as he snuck up behind Mira and Levy.

"Master and Mest are talking about…wait a second. NATSU?" Mira swung around to face him. Her shout had grabbed the attention of everyone around them. She spotted Lisanna standing a bit behind and moved to hug her, until she saw the third person standing there with her hands bound and head covered.

"So…are you going to tell me what gramps is doing or not?" he urged.

"Oh, sorry. Mest and Connor have been traveling all over trying to find Eagen's generals and their stations. Mest is telling him everything he found right now."

"Who's Connor?" Natsu asked as he shifted his attention to his prisoner. Both times Connor's name was said she flinched.

"He used to work for them, but he turned himself over to Master a month ago and has been helping us since then." Mira kept her eyes on the hooded girl. "How is she?" she asked softly.

"Better, but we still have a lot of work to do."

"Is that why her face is covered?"

"Huh? Oh, no that's because we didn't want any of those guys to recognize her and try to give her orders or something." Natsu moved to take the hood off, but Lucy stopped him. "It's ok, Luce. Those guys aren't here."

She shook her head vigorously. Natsu could only stare at her, but Mira understood what was wrong. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her and then whispered into her ear. "No one blames you Lucy. We just want you home." Mira felt her body shake slightly and could hear the faint sounds of crying, but the other girl refused to speak.

"Is Porlyuscia here?" Lisanna asked her sister.

"She is. She stays in a small hut over there at the far edge of the encampment. That way she can be close if we need her, but she's far enough away that we won't bother her on a regular basis."

"Natsu." Makarovs voice called out. He was standing in the doorway of the hut with the other two men just behind him. Natsu knew Mest by sight, so he guessed that the other guy was this Connor. Lucy's body jerked when she heard his voice, but yet again she said nothing. Mira stood back to let Lisanna take one of Lucy's arms to move her forward as the guild master slowly made his way over. He stopped about an arm's length away with his hands clasped behind his back. "What do you need Natsu." He asked.

"We need Porlyusica."

"Why her?"

"I think she might be able to get controlling lacrima out of Lucy."

"It won't work." Connor stepped up and stood just behind Makarov.

"And why is that?"

"Because of the way the lacrima was placed, it would be almost impossible to remove it with any of your magic."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"Because I helped Eagen put it in her head." He said quietly as he stared at her. "I would take it all back if I could."

"We cannot change the past." Makarov said. "All we can do is learn from it and hope we don't make the same mistakes." He turned back to the man with stern eyes. "Do you know how to remove the lacrima?"

"I do. But not only do I not have the right equipment, I also don't have the right power."

"What does that mean?"

"That means Eagen's power is fused with the device, which was then fused with her brain. It's the reason she does whatever he tells her to do."

"Because it's his power inside her body."

"Correct. I could try to pull it out with my own power, but if I make one wrong move she's dead. Or if the power in the lacrima doesn't recognize me, she's dead."

Natsu heard every single word that was said, and he got more and more angry with each one. So he did the only thing he could think of. He punched Connor in the face. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" He got in one more punch before several pairs of hands were able to hold him back. "YOU DID THIS TO HER!" he struggled and fought against them to get to this man that abused someone that was so important to him. He kept on until another pair of arms appeared on either side of his head from behind.

"He is not the enemy." She said quietly in his ear. She pulled her arms back as much as she could, hinting that she wished to hold him tighter, but he simply raised his hands to rest them on her upper arm. Lucy could feel his tense body and the slight tremor that was beginning so she pressed herself more to his back and spoke again. "Natsu please." He closed his eyes and fought to keep the tears back. It was the first time she had said his name since that day she had begged him to kill her. He still had nightmares about that.

He slowly got his body to relax and those hands that were holding him finally let go. He turned in Lucy's arms and stared at her hood-covered head. He started to take the hood off, but just sighed and pulled her arms off. "Come on." He placed a hand on her arm again and started to walk back out of the camp.

"Where are you going now?" Lisanna asked when they passed her.

"Over there somewhere. Since no one has any ideas, I'm going to get that damn thing out of Lucy by myself."

Some time later, Lisanna was sitting by the fire helping her sister finish the soup. With all of the news and excitement it was almost ruined, but Mira was skilled enough with cooking that she knew just what to do in order to salvage it. Lisanna helped and then watched as her sister went to work with spices and such. Every now and then she would give her sister a task, most mostly Lisanna just sat there. That was fine with her though, she had a lot on her mind.

"You're pretty quiet over there." Mira stated. She stirred the soup again and then tasted it. She made a slight face.

"Sorry, I've just had a lot to think about lately."

"That's understandable." She added another pinch of something and went back to stirring. "You were alone with Natsu for some time after all." She gave her sister a sly smile.

"It wasn't like that!" Lisanna protested with a blush. "Besides, we weren't really alone. Happy was there too. And then Lucy was with us." She lowered her head to look at the ground.

"So you are telling me you didn't think about that at all when you were traveling with him?"

"No! I mean I used to." She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. "I used to think about a lot of things. But then I left."

"That wasn't your fault."

"I know, but it still happened." She sighed and looked back up at her sister. "I see the way he looks at her. I can't compete with that Mira!"

"Oh, Lisanna." Mira pulled the soup off of the fire and set it on the ground, then she sat next to her sister. "This kind of thing isn't a competition. Sometimes things just…happen. It doesn't matter what we do, we can't change it. We aren't meant to."

"Still doesn't make it any easier."

"I know."

"The whole reason I went with Natsu was because I felt like I owed Lucy. Like I should have done something sooner and maybe she would still be fine. But after seeing him with her, really SEEING it, I just know. I guess it's probably time I moved on. I can't keep sitting around and hoping that he'll love me one day. Not when he loves her, even if he doesn't realize it yet."

Mira laughed and gave her sister a one arm hug. "He probably doesn't. It's hard to get him to be serious about anything unless it's food or fighting. And you are right. If you just sit and wait for something that may never happen, you run the very real risk that you will miss out on something wonderful that could have happened."

Lisanna threw her head back and took a deep breath. When she released it she let all of her past feeling go with it and turned back to her sister. "I think I feel better already." She smiles, and it was radiant. Mira couldn't help but mirror it.

In the shadows he waited and watched. Master Eagen didn't know he was here, but after seeing his pet with those others he knew what he had to do. His name was Wells, and he was loyal to only Master Eagen. If Lucy had betrayed their master, then Wells would have to kill her. He smiles, he liked killing, especially girls. He was going to have fun.


	24. Chapter 24: I'm free

"How long are you going to keep staring at me?" Lucy asked quietly. She sat on the ground with her legs crossed and her bound hands in her lap. In front of her, a white cat sat with her arm crossed and her eyes seeming to bore into Lucy's skull.

"I'm not just staring at you." Carla told her in her usual haughty voice. "I am trying to see if I can find a way to remove that lacrima without you dying in the process." She closed her eyes in frustration then reopened them. "But everything I see ends up the same way."

"I die." The way Lucy said those two words tore at Carla. It was just so matter of fact, like it was something she expected and waited for.

"Yes."

"No way and I gonna let that happen!" Natsu growled at them. He had been watching them from a few feet away. Wendy sat at his side also watching. She was focused on her two friends intently, trying to will Carla to find something that will help. "We will find a way." Natsu looked at Lucy in a way that made her blush. She forced herself to look away from, fearing that she would return that look. At this point he deserved better than her. She heard him stand and then walk closer. She half expected him to sit down next to her, but he stayed standing and stood close to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He was moving his head in all directions and his nose flared out like he was trying to smell the air.

"There's someone out there."

"It's probably someone from the guild." Carla said. "We aren't that far from the encampment after all."

"No." he said carefully. "I don't know this scent." Natsu's foot shifted and brushed against Lucy's leg, causing him to look down at her. "We need to get you back to the guild. If they found us, you will be their number one target." He reached down and placed a hand under her arm to lift her, but then the ground underneath them erupted. Natsu wrapped Lucy in his arms and then launched them away from the area.

"Natsu!" Wendy cried out as she dodged more eruptions. All around them were fountains of earth that went off at random and Natsu, Wendy and Carla could only hope to avoid getting caught directly by one.

After several tense minutes, everything went quiet. Natsu kept his eyes open along with his ears but he could pinpoint the bastard.

A laugh.

A high maniacal laugh that sounded right behind Natsu.

A scream.

Lucy screamed as she was snatched right out of Natsu's arms.

He finally got a good look at this guy, and he wished that he hadn't. He didn't even look human arms and legs that were too long for his torso. He had Lucy by her hair with her feet dangling at least a foot off of the ground. He couldn't stop looking at her face. Her terror punched a hole right through him.

He didn't think, he didn't have time to. He jumped with a fist lit and caught the man thing right where his elbow bent, causing his arm to bend. His next motion was to send another flaming fist at the hand holding her hair. He let go, but the smell of Lucy's burnt hair made his gag a little.

When they hit the ground Natsu immediately pivoted and ran with Lucy. He didn't want her in the way, and it also felt like she was the target. _Dammit_ he cursed at himself. _I had a feeling they could come looking for her._

On the other side of the battlefield, Wendy and Carla stood staring at the monster man with wide eyes and open mouths. When Natsu made it over to them, he touched them on the shoulders to get them to look at him instead. "Wendy, Carla! I need the two of you to keep Lucy here and protect her."

"Natsu…" Lucy tried to speak, but Natsu just talked right over her.

"On second thought, Carla I need you to go back and get a few more people. I got a feeling this guy won't go down easy."

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed, finally getting his attention. "His name is Wells. He's one of… _his_ generals. But really he's just a psychopath that likes to kill girls. He's very strong, not even _he_ could keep a good grip on him. I don't think even the entire guild together can beat him."

He didn't tremble with fear, but he did smile. "Carla, GO!" She took off, and Natsu ran flat out at Wells. It was strange, while they were talking he never moved. He just stood there and watched them with his crazy eyes.

He saw Natsu coming at him and braced, planting his feet and raising arms up to block. Wendy stood in front of Lucy, partially blocking her view, but she could see enough. Natsu put as much force as he could in his strikes but Wells simply blocked them. Natsu swung his foot up intending to kick him in the face but Wells grabbed it and threw him like he was nothing.

As soon as he released Natsu, Wells turned his attention to the two girls. He flicked a slimy tongue across his lips then galloped on all fours like an animal straight at them. Wendy took a fighting stance, but before she could do anything Lucy stood. Wells wasn't going to stop, so Lucy pushed Wendy with her shoulder to knock her out of the way before Wells crashed onto them. Lucy managed to roll away and avoid being hit, but soon found herself being pulled along the ground. When she looked back she saw Wells' hand wound tightly around her ankle. She screamed when she saw Wendy held in his other hand.

Wells held Lucy upside down in front of his face. "Master is upset with you." He said in his strange, high-pitched voice that always gave Lucy the chills. "Told us to kill you, he did." He stuck his tongue back out and licked Lucy from temple to chin. "He didn't say it had to be quick though."

She tried to get away, but his grip was just too strong. She closed her eyes and waited for him to start his fun, but Natsu chose that moment to show back up. He caught Wells off guard with a flaming head butt to the chest that sent him flying backwards. He dropped the girl to the ground with a thud, and Natsu chanced a quick glance to them to make sure they were ok then went right back to fighting.

As Lucy watched him, a particular fear began to take hold of her. She knew that she had to do it, even though it might mean that she would end up back with… _him._ She hated it. The very thought made her feel sick, but if they died because she did nothing, well that was worse. "Wendy." Lucy said. She walked as calmly as she could to her friend and her out her bound hands. "I need you to untie me."

Wendy looked back at her, confused. "But what about the control lacrima? Natsu said if you were untied you might start attacking us again."

"It's a risk we are going to have to take right now. Natsu isn't going to be able to take Wells down on his own, and I can't just stand here and watch him die. Not when I can think for myself. Please Wendy! I don't have much time!"

Wendy shot an anxious glance to Natsu who was struggling to land any blows, then swiftly undid the rope. "Hurry! Carla should be back soon with more people."

Lucy flexed her hands a few times, working them out since they had such limited movement lately. One last flex then she turned to face Wells. She lifted one hand and held it straight out with her palm aimed right at Wells. Her other hand was held down by her thigh with the palm aimed at the ground. She felt that power that she hated so much swell up, then the aimed and released.

From under her palm aimed at the ground a line of exploding earth started and made its way to Wells. By the time it reached him a large boulder behind his head burst into shards.

Wells turned a snarling face to her, she released again and the ground at his feet erupted. He leapt back only to be pushed to the ground by Natsu. He lifted his eyes to Lucy, and when their eyes met she knew he was furious. She was supposed to be standing and being protected by Wendy, not using this power that had hurt so many people. He pulled his fist back to hit Wells again, but the monster man decided to let his little secret out and vanished.

Wendy screamed. He had her by her hair this time. Natsu was too far away to get to Wendy as Wells took a too long finger and pressed it to her cheek. Lucy reacted.

She placed a hand on his spindly leg and released that hated power. His leg buckled and he threw Wendy with a scream of rage. He turned those eyes to Lucy again, and she simply moved up and quickly placed a hand on his chest while releasing the power at the same time. She released more than she had intended, so the result left a hole the size of her hand in the front of his chest and his back was nothing but a bloody and meaty ruin. Wells fell to the ground, crazed eyes staring at nothing.

Then it happened, just like she knew it would. The pull, it wanted her to go back to him. Her legs started to move on their own but she fought back. She fell to the ground and dug her fingers into the ground with a scream. Natsu ran up to her and lifted her into a sitting position.

"What in the hell is going on?" Gray shouted. Carla finally made it back with what looked like almost all of the guild.

"Stay back!" Natsu yelled back at him. Lucy's body moved against him. Every time he had an arm held down she freed it somehow. He could tell that it wasn't her wanting to go and that she was fighting. She had used that power again, and now the control lacrima wanted her to return to her master.

"I can't…I can't…I can't…" she panted over and over, trying to get the words out but being too panicked to do so.

"You need to calm down Lucy." Connor said from where he stood by Makarov. "The more you panic the easier it is for the magic in the lacrima to control you."

Matsu managed to get his arms around Lucy in a bear hug with his mouth right next to her ear. "You hear that? Try to calm down. Focus on me, right here in front of you." Her body was stiff and rigid against his. "You can do this Lucy."

"I…can't…go…back." She said, each word coming out in a harsh breath.

"And we won't let you."

"Please just kill me."

"Not this again. I already told you this once, but I'll tell you again. I am not going to kill you."

"Please."

"Not gonna happen."

"Why?"

Lucy thought he wasn't going to respond, but then he whispered something that changed everything. "Because I love you."

She stopped breathing, her heart even stopped beating for a split second. Then a warm rush of power filled Lucy. Her body began to glow, softly at first, and then so brightly that everyone there had to turn away. Natsu never moved, not even when Lucy threw her head back and let out a scream that he thought wasn't even possible for her.

When she stopped screaming, the light went out and she went limp in Natsu's "Lucy!" he held her so she didn't hit the ground and tried to look for injuries.

"That shouldn't have been possible!" Connor walked up to them with his body shaking. "He never taught her the healing aspect of our power."

"What happened?" Natsu demanded.

Connor knelt down and picked up a small marble that had rolled away from Lucy. He held it up for Natsu to see it. "This is the control lacrima. Lucy somehow healed herself and forced the device out."

"It's out?" Lucy asked, her voice very weak.

"Yes, Lucy. It's out." Connor told her.

"I'm free." She said as she closed her eyes and let the tears fall freely. "I'm free."

Natsu held her close as his own tears fell. When he glanced back up, he saw that all of Fairy Tail cried with her. They had their Lucy back.


	25. Chapter 25: Moving for war

The people of Fairy Tail wanted to party, but they also knew that more important things were going on. Makarov told everyone that he was working on a plan of action with the other guilds that he was still in contact with. He wanted everyone to be on the same page and hit everyone at the same time so no one would be left out or give them a chance to get help. Some wizards were more intent on the fight than others though, Kagura and Minerva both said that they had one particular person in mind that they wanted. So, while they worked everything out, the members of Fairy Tail had three more days to prepare for some intense fighting.

That night, Lucy lay alone in the hut that was in the center of the encampment. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't keep the memories from surfacing in her mind. Each time she managed to wipe one away another one would take its place, so she soon found herself curled in on herself on her side and crying. She heard the door open but didn't look to see who it was, she knew it was him.

Natsu took his place beside her, not touching her, and waited for her to see him. She didn't look at him, but after a few moments the tears quieted down enough for her to speak in a hushed voice so she didn't wake anyone else. "What are you doing here?"

"My best friend is crying and you ask what I am doing here? How fried is your brain?" He was just as quiet as she was.

"I thought you were sleeping?"

"Who could sleep with all the crying?"

"If you are trying to make me feel better you are doing a lousy job."

He gave a small laugh that made her look at him. "Oh, so you CAN look at me."

"Shut up Natsu." He gave her a smile and reached his hand out to place it just short of her hand, careful not to make actual contact. "Why are you really here?"

"I told you already."

She stared at him. He looked at her just like he did on any other normal day, but there seemed to be something else there underneath that. She remembered what he told her, she didn't think anyone else had heard it but she did. She wanted to ask him about it, if he meant it, but a part of her didn't want to hear him say that he didn't and that it was just to try to help her.

"I meant it, you know." He told her. Lucy's eyes widened as she wondered if he could read her mind somehow. He laughed quietly. "No, I can't read your mind, but I am pretty good at reading you by now."

"So you meant it? You really do…"

"Not only would I never lie about something like that, I would never lie to you about that."

"Why? After everything? How could you feel that way?"

"I don't know, I just do."

"Do you even know what love is?"

He was silent for a few moments. "I know that when you are not with me I feel like I am not whole. When you are hurting, I am hurting. When you smile, I sometimes feel like I might burst from the inside because of how happy I feel. I want you by my side always, Lucy, so that's what I do know."

Lucy felt her face flush but she couldn't look away from him. "You can't stay with me though. In fact, as soon as this is all over I am going to leave."

"Why would you leave? Don't you want to stay with us?"

"Of course I want to, but after everything I've done I can't. I can't face everyone anymore, especially poor little Asuka." She felt a tear fall again when she said the child's name.

"Asuka may not fully understand everything right now, but she will one day. And to just leave and not even give her a chance isn't fair. Not to mention how much trouble we went through to get you back, and you plan to just leave us again?" There was real anger there in his voice. She closed her eyes in a feeble attempt to hide from it.

"I'm broken, Natsu. And I don't know if I can ever be made right again, even with all of you around me."

"But to not even give us a chance is the same as just giving up altogether. And the Lucy I know would never give up like that."

"The Lucy you know is dead. She died the moment that man took her."

Natsu moved then, he placed a hand on the side of her hear gently. "She's not dead. She's right here! She just happens to be hiding under all the pain and horror she's been through these last several weeks." She opened her eyes and stared at him. "I am not going to let you just leave. But if you feel like you really need to then I will go with you."

"You can't do that! Fairy Tail is your family!"

"So are you." He moved his thumb to softly stroke her cheek. "I know that it will be rough for a while, but you can be healed from this. If you would just give us…give me a chance, then maybe you can be happy again. But you will never know if you give up before you even try." He pulled his hand down and took hold of her hand, twining his fingers with hers.

"What if…"

"No, no 'what if's' or any of that bullshit. I won't let you walk away."

"You might." Lucy gave him sad eyes; fill with all the pain she had endured. Natsu gave her fierce eyes.

"You know I won't."

She wanted to respond, but at the same time she knew that he was right. She knew him well enough to know that he would never walk away from a friend that needed help.

There was a silence that followed that, but it wasn't awkward. It was warm and filled with promises that had been unsaid but still felt all the same. Lucy finally felt her eyes get heavy and allowed herself to close them, but she never let go of Natsu's hand and he never left. When she drifted off to sleep she discovered that it was possible for her to have a dreamless sleep.

The next morning dawned with excitement filling the camp. Everyone was running around and getting ready to head out to fight, but Lucy was still in the hut. Several people had gone up to try to get her to come out, but she ignored them. There was some major shock when Natsu walked out yawning and scratching his head with sleep still in his eyes. Makarov almost had a heart attack, even though Natsu tried his best to explain to him that nothing happened.

Here and there were wizards practicing their magic and working on getting stronger, but there was one wizard that sat in silence and stared at the hut in the middle of the camp. With a heavy sigh he stood and made his way to the door and opened it.

Lucy jumped when the door opened, and then she held her breath when she saw Makarov standing there. He shut the door in silence and took a seat on the floor next to her. She was seated also on the floor at the back of the hut, her back tight against the wall. When he sat she avoided his gaze, but could feel his burning fiercely. "There is something I need to discus with you, child."

She risked a quick glance and saw that he wasn't angry with her like she expected after everything. "What do you need, sir?"

"I know you have been through much lately, but when we leave to fight, I want you to know that I hope you will fight with us."

"I was planning on it. But if it came to _him_ I'm not sure how much good I will be." She turned away from him and moved her hands to the tops of her knees.

Makarov touched the back of her right hand, where her guild mark had been. "He really did a number on you. If Mira had been able to find the guild stamp you would already have your mark back."

"Why would you want me back? I killed people, I killed a guild member!" she snatched her hand back and cradled it against her chest. "I don't belong in Fairy Tail anymore, I'm not good enough."

"My dead child, you will always belong in Fairy Tail, with or without that mark on your hand. Because you will always have the guild mark etched onto your heart. Not good enough? Heh, I am the one that determines if someone is or is not good enough for this guild, and I say that you are."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "You still want me?"

"Of course! Now, when it comes to the upcoming fight there are a few things I would like to teach you. With that other lacrima still in your body, they should be doable for you."

For the rest of that day, and the following two days, Makarov and Lucy were shut in the hut alone with a constant feeling of magic power pouring out from both of them. The guild master had Freed place runes so they wouldn't be disturbed and so that no one could hear what was being said. Natsu tried to get in several times only to be blocked by the runes. By the end of the third day everyone was curious as to what was going on in that hut, but the guild master never said a word when he would come out.

When the sun rose after the third day, the members of Fairy Tail packed up everything that was vital and headed out. Makarov had a cart brought in and made sure Lucy was on that cart with him, along with more of Freed's runes. As then rolled down the road Natsu walked beside the cart with a sour expression, but at least he didn't try to get in.

All across Fiore, several groups of wizards were on the move. They each had a target area to get to and a specific day and time to get there. A few of the Fairy Tail wizards split off from the main group to meet up with other guilds, but with the main group was still the strongest members except for Erza.

It was time.

They waited a month, and a price was paid all over Fiore.

But now…they moved forward for a war they all itched for.


	26. Chapter 26: I owe you pain

It was the last night on the way to Crocus. Makarov made them all stop well before sundown to make camp at the base of the mountains they were skirting around. As usual, the guild master walked Lucy out of the wagon and had her walk around the camp several times. Every time she complained he would just tell her to suck it up and move, if she stayed sitting in the cart then she would be useless by the time they reached their destination. Several people tried to talk to her during her walks, but she would always brush them off and keep going. After the fourth attempt Levy gave to talk to her friend she walked away crying. Levy watched her walk on with her own tears streaming down her face.

"Don't take it personal." Makarov told the girl. "She's just afraid to get close to us again."

"Doesn't she know that we just want to make sure she's ok? We just want to talk to her."

"She knows that. But Lucy has been through a lot lately, and she is scared that she will hurt us again."

"She's already hurting us again."

"I know." Makarov watched Lucy as she walked with her head down and her hands up to her collar almost in a protective stance. She stared at the ground and did her best to pretend that no one was there. There was another reason that she wasn't talking to anyone though, and only Makarov knew that reason. The cart wasn't just to protect the girl; it was also so she could learn on the road. There wasn't enough time at the encampment for her to learn everything he wanted to teach her so he had to improvise, so a cart he could hide her away in it was. There was something he was teaching her that would in all likelihood win this war…if she would just open herself up more she would stop running into the problem she has been having, but the girl was still just as stubborn as ever.

"Hey gramps!" Gray called as he jogged up "Have you heard anything about the other guilds yet?"

"I have, and everyone is set and ready to go."

"How many are left?" Levy asked

"Enough, I hope. We couldn't warn everyone when the attack came so several dozen were wiped out that day. And then that damn decree." The guild master closed his eyes and lowered his head in anger. "But, we have about a dozen or so and most of the enemy's forces are still in Crocus."

"That's why you had everyone split up?"

"It is. If we do it right then we can hit these guys so that they don't even know we are there." He turned to Gray, "Do you remember your job?"

"Yes sir, Juvia and I are to stay in the north part of city with Mira, Lisanna and Elfman to get the citizens out and take out any enemy we see."

"Then Jet, Droy and myself will be in the east part of the city with Warren and Mest doing the same thing." Levy stated.

"Good. I don't want anyone to slip on their task. It is imperative that everyone stick to what they have been told to do."

"What is Lucy going to be doing?" Levy asked, her cheeks flushing as she realized she probably shouldn't have asked that.

"Lucy will be with Natsu and myself, and we are going after the head of the snake."

In another part of those same mountains a small group of people sat huddled around a small fire. They were silent as they waited for another person to come back from a scouting run. It wasn't really a scouting run, but more of a run to see if they had received any new information from their guild contacts. One of the people kept looking in the direction the person went off to hoping they would be back soon, and sure enough the sound of footsteps was heard and that same person stood.

Jellal came into view and sighed when he saw that his friends were still safe. "What happened?" Meldy asked as she rushed over to him. "Is there any news?"

"Yes." He replied as he walked over to the fire and sat. "They are attacking at daybreak."

"Are you serious? Where are they going to strike?"

"Everywhere."

"Is that possible?"

"It is when you have a host of wizard guilds spread out to hit the outlying targets."

"Who is going to the capital?"

"Who do you think?" He gave her a smirk and then turned to the other three people that were with them. "I am going back to Crocus, are you coming with me?"

"Of course I am going with you!" Toma E Fiore replied angrily. He sat next to his daughter who sat up straighter when her father replied. On her other side, Arcadios drew himself up as well with a firm look in his eyes. "Do you honestly expect me to sit here while my people fight for the kingdom?"

Jellal smiled and gave him a nod. "I expected nothing less of you, your majesty." He turned back to Meldy and sighed again. "I suppose you are going as well."

"Of course I am going. I'm not going to let you walk into that mess alone!" she said.

Jellal couldn't help but smile at her. All too soon his smile disappeared as they made their plans for the morning and the strike on the invaders.

The dawn came with a quiet sense of eager waiting that was felt all over country. Erza sat by the window of one of the many abandoned building in Era and stared at what used to be the headquarters for the magic council. It was almost time, but there was still one more thing she was waiting for. There was a small group that she was with that were currently working their way around the city trying to find anyone that had stayed and getting them out. When Erza was making her way around the city every building she came across was empty, but there might have been some people. If there were, then the first priority was to get them out. Once the fighting started there was no guarantee that they would be safe anywhere inside the city.

There was a slight scraping sound behind her and she spun around with a sword held low and ready before she saw Millianna standing there. She froze when she saw Erza there with her sword out but then she relaxed and smiled. "I see you are ready to fight." She told her friend.

"Not necessarily, but with these people I feel the need to always be ready to just in case." She let her sword fall to her side and relaxed her stance a bit. "How is the search going?"

"It's done, looks like every one left as soon as they realized what was going on."

"That was very smart of them, and also good fortune for us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we can fight without holding back."

Erza turned back to the window for a moment then left the room, with Millianna following right behind her. Once they were in the front room she saw the rest of her current team which consisted of several members of Quatro Cerberus including their guild master and Kagura. They stood when she entered the room and Goldmine walked up to her. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Are you?"

His answer was a large grin that she returned.

"Do you know for sure that she is here?" Kagura asked.

"She is here." Erza told her friend. There was a reason that those two women in particular were sent to this city. The general that was in charge here was the one that wiped out Mermaid Heel. "She should be in the council building if Connor and Mest were right."

"Then that is where we will go." Millianna stated, hands up like she was ready to box.

"Not you, Millianna." Kagura told her firmly.

She dropped her hands and stared at her friend with her mouth open. "Why not? I need to pey her back too!"

"I know, and while you are getting stronger I can't run the risk of the same thing happening to you that happened a month ago." Kagura looked away from her, "I can't watch that again, so please stay with Goldmine and the others."

Millianna growled but ultimately agreed. "Don't worry about her. We will look out for her." Goldmine said.

"You had better!" Kagura gave him her best intimidating stare that actually made Goldmine sweat a little.

"It's time to go." Erza said, bringing them all back to the situation. They all took a deep breath then left the building one at a time, heading to their locations. Erza and Kagura were last. They exited the building and swiftly made their way to their target area, keeping to the edges of the building and the shadows as much as they could. So far they hadn't seen a single person but that was about to change. The plan was to create a distraction so the enemy army would come out of hiding and spread out so that the wizards there could take them out easier than if they were all in one group.

When they got to the edge of the main building they stopped and waited for the distraction. As the time ticked on, Erza grew worried that the plan had failed somehow, but then a sudden and very loud explosion rocked the city and sent flames high above the buildings. Then another explosion several streets over, then another and another.

Just as they had planned the streets soon filled with the enemy as they rushed to the fires. There was one woman that came out and perched on top of a building and watched the ensuing chaos with a glare. Erza gave Kagura a questioning look and she nodded. That was her, that was Shar. Erza didn't want to give her any time to move away from them. She changed into her Heaven's Wheel armor and sent her swords flying.

Shar had little time to react, but she did in time to only receive a few nicks from the blades. When she landed from her jump she screamed in a strange voice then spotted the two women. Then she smiled.

Kagura stepped forward and drew her sword from the sheath. "Do you remember me?"

Shar tilted her head to the side in question, but then she smiled. "I always remember my toys." She said, smiling broad enough to show her teeth.

Kagura set her sword in her hands as Erza took her own stance to the side and a few feet away from her, having changed into a different armor set. "I am not your toy, and I owe you pain." They charged, and Shar laughed.

Fairy Tail walked quietly and as stealthily as they could through the streets of Crocus as they could. Each team that had jobs in the city were already making their way to where they were needed, so Makarov found himself alone with Natsu and Lucy (and Happy) as they creeped to Mercurius. Connor couldn't find any solid information on Eagen, but they all figured that it was likely he was here. Makarov looked at Lucy as she walked with an arm latched around Natsu. He could see the fear in her eyes, but he could also see the determination in the set of her shoulders. She would do what needed to be done, he was sure of it.

When they reached one of the doors he stopped and waited. Any minute now, it was going to start. And when it did, their job was to head right to the throne room. Lucy said he was the type of person that didn't usually like to get his own hands dirty when it came to a war, he made his army do everything for him, so he would probably be sitting pretty in a chair while his people died.

Makarov felt the ground tremble, and Natsu sent a pillar of fire straight into the air that lasted only a few seconds. There was another tremble, and then the shouts started. He took Lucy by the hand and pulled her into the castle. It was time to end this.


	27. Chapter 27: We got this now

The port city of Hargeon was burning. The members of Sabertooth were spread throughout the city along with Gajeel doing their best to defeat the people that had invaded, but so far they were losing…again. Sting and Lector were up against a group of four men that kept pushing him back into corner after corner. Lector tried to help out, but he was just a bit useless when it came to fighting. He stayed back but they always found him and would sent shockwaves to him, not Sting. After the third time of seeing this, Sting decided that it was time to get serious.

He activated his White Drive and sent an attack that took out the entire street. Lector stood by his friend's feet trembling as another member of the guild ran up to them.

"Dammit Sting, you almost got me with that one!" Rogue shouted as he skidded to a halt.

"Sorry, I guess I got a bit antsy. They kept going after Lector." Sting knelt down and put an arm around the exceed.

"I noticed that." Rogue told him as Frosch padded over to Lector. "They tried that with me as well." He turned his annoyed eyes back to his friend. "But I didn't take out an entire street in retaliation!"

"I already said I was sorry!"

There was another rumble a distance away and both men looked in that direction with concern in their eyes. "M'lady is really going all out over there." Rogue said quietly.

"She is. I would be too, she's up against the guy that attacked us at the guild hall."

"We should help her then!"

"No, we should let her take care of that guy on her own. She can handle him."

Several streets over, where the rumble happened, Minerva was fighting about as hard as she had ever fought. It was just the one guy but he was strong. She smiled to herself, Erza was stronger than him. This guy was boasting when the fight started about how he was one of the smarter generals, but he still hadn't figured out that every time he sent his waves of blasts at her she switched their places and he took the brunt of the attacks. He was still fast though, and he never let her get close enough to land a solid hit on him. She was trying to avoid using her magic to get him closer, but it was starting to look like she didn't have any choice now.

She held a hand out and used her Spatial magic to call him to her, but as soon as he was close, he placed a hand on her chest. Without a second thought she changed their places and sent him flying back. She could almost feel his power about to be released, and if she had waited any longer…well that thought was for another day. She straightened herself back up and stared back at this man. Maybe he was smarter than she thought he was.

In Oak Town, the wizard guild Lamia Scale fought their own battle. There were well over a hundred soldiers there that were led by the same man that led the attack on their guild. He called himself Deacon, Jura made sure he remembered that name.

The wizard saint stood alone in the center of the city, with his guild mates spread out fighting. He waited for the man to come, he knew that he would. There was a certain feel to the air that told Jura that his battle was about to start. And sure enough, several building around him exploded at once announcing the arrival of the man he waited for. He had to raise several rock pillars around himself to keep the walls from hitting him, and when everything was quiet he lowered them to see him standing there. Jura expected to see him smiling, happy at all of the destruction that his people had caused. But he stood there with a look of almost defeat.

He waited for Deacon to attack again, but he just stood there. "With all of your people fighting in the city you decide to just stand there?" he asked with a truly inquisitive tone.

Jura smiled at him. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Why do you not attack again?"

"That, my friend, is a very complicated question." He smiled then, but it was a sad smile filled with promises that were never kept. He raised a hand and sent a wave of power at Jura.

He dodged it easily, and brought his own hands up and used his fingers to make certain formations and raised two rock hands from the ground in an attempt to crush Deacon. He never tried to move, but he did push his arms out at the bases of the rock hands and cause them to explode with ease. "What is so complicated about my question?"

"It's actually not so much as the question being complicated, but the answer being complicated." He waved his right hand in a circular motion with his palm down at the ground and Jura looked down at his feet to see that a circle had formed around him. He launched himself backwards right as the explosion of earth happened. He knelt on the ground and watched his opponent carefully for a moment. His body told him that he was ready to fight right then, but his eyes told a different story. That was when it hit him, this man was just like Lucy.

Back in Era, Erza and Kagura were struggling in their fight with Shar. She was fast and surprisingly resistant to their magic attacks. No matter what armor she tried, any hit she attempted with her magic Shar could just shrug it off and come at them full force. At one point Kagura told her that she tried to tell her about the magic resistance but didn't have the time when she remembered it. It didn't matter, they needed to focus on the battle.

At that moment, the three women were fighting at the edge of Era. Erza had transformed into her Black Wing armor, trying to gain some kind of advantage while Kagura kept trying to pin her down with her gravity magic.

It was no good.

Shar pushed herself back up again and sent a massive wave of power to both women on either side of her. She stood there and swiveled her head back and forth while panting. Erza took careful note of that. It wasn't much, but at least they were starting to tire her out. It didn't matter if they tired her out completely though if Erza and Kagura were too tired to finish her off. Erza could feel her own magic power starting to drain as she transformed again, choosing her Flight Armor and equipping herself with a lance from her Piercing armor set. It was a chance, but they didn't have time to play everything safe.

She could see Kagura standing back up, her body fighting against her to stay down. There was a cut on her forehead and line of blood dripped down her chin, but she turned her anger-filled eyes to the woman that stopped her head on the other. Shar hunched over a bit and let out a shriek of rage and pushed off with her back foot to launch herself at Kagura, but Erza had her lance ready. In one motion, the lance was sent flying at the general.

Everything appeared to be moving in slow motion. Shar smiled at Kagura, then vanished. Kagura widened her eyes as her vision was filled with Erza's lance that was flying at her now. Shar then reappeared behind Erza and sent a small pulse of power into her hip, causing the woman to scream in pain and fall to her knees. When She looked up, she was relieved to see Kagura had managed to avoid the lance, but now there was another series of cuts decorating her friend's body.

Shar gave a wicked laugh as she watched Kagura try to pin her down again, but her magic was starting to weaken. Erza transformed again, this time into her Wingblade Armor. She took a swipe at Shar, but she just moved out of the way with ease. Erza fell back to the ground, her breath coming out in sharp gasps. This fight wasn't going as they had hoped it would.

Minerva rolled over and looked up at the sky. It was clear with the sun shining down on the city. On any normal day, it would have been a good day for having fun. But today, it felt like it was a day for dying. The man she had been fighting turned the battle into his favor some time ago, hitting Minerva with blow after blow of power that seemed never ending. She lay there, staring at the sky wondering if it was even possible to defeat this man, when a shadow moved over her. She blinked twice and saw him standing there. "What?" she asked him, disdain dripping from her voice. "Too good to kill me from a distance so you have to do it close up?"

He knelt down then moved a strand of hair away from her face so he could look into her eyes clearly. "I have always preferred to kill my opponents up close. There is no honor from killing someone when they cannot look you in the eye." His voice was soft, and if it had come from anyone else she would have thought he was trying to sooth her. But she could tell that he didn't give a damn about soothing her.

She brought a hand up and swatted his away from her. He chuckled then placed his hand on her face, covering everything except for her eyes. She felt his power build as she stared at him, helpless. Her magic power was almost completely drained. At that moment, she wished she had asked for help from Sting and Rogue.

Part of her wanted to close her eyes and think of something other than this man, but the other part wanted to make sure he saw her as he killed her. But she never got to that part, as someone kicked him away.

She turned her head, and saw a strange man wearing a suit standing there with a soft, golden light emanating from him. "Oh no!" a feminine voice said from somewhere behind her. When another shadow showed up from behind her, she almost cried in relief when she saw Yukino. "I'm sorry, we tried to hurry."

"It's ok. Where are Sting and Rogue?"

"They're on their way. Never mind." Yukino ducked her head down and covered Minerva as a beam of light soared over the two women directly at the man that almost killed Minerva.

"Don't worry, M'lady." Sting said. "We got this now."

He walked past her with Rogue right beside him. When they started their fight, the man in the suit approached them. He touched Yukino on her shoulder and looked her right in the eyes. "Where is she?" he asked.

"She's in Crocus."

He smiled, then vanished without another word. Minerva turned a confused face to her friend. "Who was that?"

"A friend." It was all she said, but there was a tear in her eye that said he was actually more than that.


	28. Chapter 28: Just four little words

Makarov stood outside the throne room with Lucy and Natsu flanking him. He could hear the voices inside the room, but he waited before opening the door. The two wizards at his side were anxious and wanted the fight over with, but there was someone else that wasn't there yet that needed to be. So he waited. If they had timed everything correctly, they should be here soon. But then again mistakes could always be made.

He heard Natsu inhale sharply and turn around, Makarov smiled. "It's about time you got here." When he turned, he was greeted by Jellal and the king. He received a smile in return, then he turned back around to the door and blew it off of its hinges.

Inside the room, people ran around and screamed about being under attack. The only person that they cared about sat alone at the far end in an elaborate throne with a back that reached several feet over his head. He was lounging in the chair with a leg thrown over one side and his head propped up on an arm on the other side. He gave the newcomers a smile that did not reach his eyes once they were in the room. The other people stopped their running around to face them, but then just fell to the ground almost at the same time.

Makarov and his group didn't need to see who was responsible, it was already planned out. Racer stopped just out of Eagen's reach once he was done with the others and prepared to take off again, which was not in the plan. "NO!" Jellal barked at him, causing him to pull up short. "You know what you have to do." Racer scoffed at him, but took off anyway.

They turned their attention to Eagen, and Makarov let his power fill him. The light that surrounded him illuminated the room like the noon day sun. He took a step, and the ground shook with him. Eagen sat up but did not look worried. Lucy and the others stayed behind the guild master, but walked further into the room as well. By the time Makarov was just a few feet from the other man, the castle itself shook and rang out like a bell. Eagen was not fazed in the least.

"I see you brought my favorite pet back to me." He told the old man, his voice sliding out and making Lucy miss a step.

"I have brought you nothing but the pain that we intend to repay you." He growled. Natsu expected him to start to lash out with his power, but he just stood there. Then he did something unexpected. "Lucy, are you ready?"

She shrunk in on herself a bit at first, then took a deep breath and then stood next to Makarov. "I am ready." Her body might have been shaking, but her voice was steady.

Eagen laughed. "You send her to take care of me? Ok then. Lucy, come to me." He ordered. Lucy didn't move. His face turned dark. "I said come to me, Lucy! NOW!" he screamed the last word at her.

"No" she said simply. "I am not yours to control anymore." The look she gave him was pure hatred. "And I am not you pet!" she took another step forward and placed herself in front of Makarov. Natsu wanted to run to her, but he knew that this was a battle she had to do alone.

With one useless hip, Erza pulled herself across the ground with her free hand. Her other hand held a sword, it was light enough that she could wield it with the one hand if needed, but also was sharp enough to get the point across. Kagura was face down on the ground a few feet away and Shar was still on her feet.

There was a large gash on the woman's back from shoulder to hip, one of her hands was gone, but she was still standing. She glared at Erza as she was still moving. _I have to end this_ Erza thought to herself. _If I don't end this now, then we are both dead._

With a grunt of effort, she pushed herself up to one knee. Shar kept her gaze on her, so Erza swept her eyes to Kagura for a moment and saw he looking at her. So, she was still alive. That was good. They stared at each other for only a heartbeat, but enough went into that look. They had a plan, at least Erza hoped that Kagura got what she was trying to convey. She transformed her armor once more, and glared back at Shar with her Nakagami Armor now in place. They had only one shot at this.

Shar shrieked at her when Erza brought her halberd up and prepared to strike.

She then stood, ignoring the searing pain, and brought the weapon down. She felt the weapon strike and then Kagura sunk her sword into the other woman's chest as she was blown back to her. Her armor vanished as she collapsed, the last thing she saw was the sight of Shar twitching on the ground and Kagura screaming over her before she passed out.

Jura was struggling. Not because Deacon was stronger than him, but because he didn't feel good about fighting someone that was not in control of themselves. Neither man was putting everything into the fight, which dragged the fight out longer than it needed to be. When Deacon stopped fighting and stood in front of Jura, there was a look in his eyes that unnerved the man.

"What now?" Jura asked, fearing what he would hear the other man say.

"I'm tired."

"Then stop fighting."

"You know I can't do that."

Jura paused before he spoke again, trying to form the right words to say. "How long has it been since you were free?"

"A very long time." Deacon told him. He looked up at the sky and watched a few wispy clouds pass by. "I honestly can't remember a time when I was completely free. Eagen was always experimenting with his control magic."

"How is it you can still think for yourself? I was told that Lucy couldn't even do that."

"Because now he has the technique perfected. When I was taken it was still new. My mind is still mine, but my body never will be." He looked back down and Jura blinked when he felt metal touch his hand. He saw that there was a small blade there that he had never seen before. "I am not allowed to do it myself."

Jura was at a loss. "Lucy was freed from the magic; you can be too."

"Not this magic. It is crude and rough. There is no lacrima in my head that can come out, but a binding that was placed on very bones." He gave the wizard a sad smile. "My fate was sealed long before I ever stepped foot here, and I have made peace with it."

Jura closed his hand around the hilt of the dagger and lifted it. He placed the point right on Deacon's heart then hesitated. He then used his other hand to grasp Deacon's hand and place it on his own. They looked each other in the eyes, then Deacon nodded once. Jura plunged the dagger into the other man's chest.

Deacon fell to the ground, but Jura was right there to catch him. He pulled him into his lap and made sure the other man wasn't alone as he took his last breaths. "Be free, my friend." He whispered as he closed his eyes.

Lucy refused to look away from the man that tormented her. He was furious that she was no longer under his control, but he was still not afraid of them. Behind her, she could feel the fury radiating off of the real king of Fiore while he stared at the invader sitting where he was supposed to be.

"Ease down, your majesty." She heard Makarov tell him.

"I can't help it. That man, sitting there. He has NO RIGHT! HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO SIT IN THAT THRONE!" the king screamed.

Eagen laughed. "I deserve to sit here because I was strong enough to take it. If you are strong enough to take it back, you are welcome to try."

Jellal had to hold the king back from attacking the man and then dying. The rest of them just stood there and stared at them. Lucy knew they were waiting for her, but she just wasn't ready. Why Makarov thought she was ready for this she didn't know.

"I knew you were all weak, but this is just ridiculous." He sent a wave of power that fanned out all across the room, sending his own people flying. By the time it reached Lucy, Natsu was already there. He lifted her up and took the brunt of the force that hit.

He set her down and clenched his fists with a growl. "I really want to fight this guy."

"I know you do." Lucy whispered to him. "I just…"

He touched her shoulder to get her to look at him. "It's ok. Whatever it is gramps wants you to do, I'm sure will work out."

"But I'm not ready for this." She said, feeling the tears betraying her again. "I'm not even a member of Fairy Tail anymore."

He pulled her in close so that their noses touched. "You will always be a member of Fairy Tail, mark or no mark! Got it?"

Lucy felt her heart skip a beat, remembering what Makarov told her those days ago in that hut. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. When she released it her eyes were open and filled with resolve. She stepped back from Natsu and oved to stand in front of Eagen again. "I will give you one chance to leave this world in peace."

Eagen laughed again and stood. "Or you will do what…send one of your spirit friends after me? Oh wait, I destroyed your keys!" He exploded the ground at her feet, but she was lifted out of the way by a man that appeared out of nowhere.

Lucy blinked and then started to cry when she saw his face, a face she thought she would never see again.

"Hey there, beautiful!" Loke said, giving her that smile usually makes girls swoon.

She threw her arms around his neck when he put her back on the ground. "How?" she choked out between the tears.

"The Celestial king was able to repair the keys. Sorry I wasn't able to get back her sooner, it took longer than expected."

"It's ok." She told him when she pulled back to look at him. "You're here. What about the others? Are they ok?"

"Yes, yes. Everyone is fine. There was almost a riot when it came to coming down here and finding you to give you back the keys."

Lucy laughed at that, her spirits may be crazy, but she loved them. And her love for them bound them to her stronger than any control magic ever could. Loke reached into his coat and pulled out a leather pouch and then handed it over to his wizard. She took it with a trembling hand and held it to her forehead. She stood there and felt the power of the keys, and felt every one of her spirits tell her that they were glad to have her back.

"Thank you, Loke." She said. She tied the pouch to her belt and touched the spirit's arm. "I owe you one."

"No you don't. But if you really want to pay me back, kick some ass!" he smiled at her again then moved to stand at her side.

When she faced Eagen again, she could see his rage. He lifted his arms and made the room around them explode. The walls around them burst outward, and the wall behind the throne was gone to the point where the sky outside was visible. Lucy and her friends stood there, feeling the power hit them but were unmoved. She wasn't scared anymore. She was still unsure about what she was about to do and if she could even do it, but she was not afraid.

"YOU CAN NOT BEAT ME!" Eagen screamed at her. He tried to hit her again with his power but she countered it with her own borrowed power. "You are nothing!" he snarled. "To think that you can take me down with that pitiful power of yours, it's laughable." He wasn't laughing.

Lucy raised her hands in front of her and placed them so that her palms were facing each other and horizontal to the ground. "I know that I am not the strongest wizard, but that is not what makes me stronger than you."

He forced out a bark of a laugh at her. "You are weak! Not stronger than me! I proved that when I broke you so easily."

"The only reason you broke me was because I had forgotten who I really am." She let her power fill her as she prepared the spell she was still unsure of. "I am strong. Not because of my power, but because I have people that love me for me. They want me in their life and would do anything to protect me." There was a light that formed around her that radiated from her hands. She removed any doubt that had been there, and thought of only the love and friendship she had found in her guild. "It was my own fault for doubting, but not anymore. You are the one who is weak. You, who has to use magic to get people to follow him. I don't need magic for someone to be willing to do anything to save my life. I will say this one more time. Leave in peace."

"NEVER! THIS IS MY WORLD NOW!" his voice echoed throughout the room.

"You leave me no choice then." The power had reached its climax, and the golden ball between Lucy's hands swirled. The spell was ready. She released it as she spoke just four little words.

"I INVOKE…FAIRY LAW"

She closed her hands together and the light that spread out was blinding. It spread even further and covered the entire city of Crocus, taking out soldier after soldier.

By the time the light faded, Eagen was nothing but a twitching heap on the floor. Jellal didn't want to take any chances with him to he walked over and stood on his back, ensuring he stayed down. Lucy's knees gave way, but Natsu was there to make sure she didn't hit the floor. Makarov looked at her with tears falling from his eyes. "Well done." He said.

Lucy let her head fall back onto Natsu's chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beating in his chest. At that moment, she didn't care how the rest of the battles went, all she cared about was that right then she had him. And he had her.


	29. Chapter 29: Welcome home

Lucy opened her eyes to the sun streaming through the curtains over her bed. She lay there wondering where she was, until a slight pressure on her hand made her turn her head to the right and she saw the top of Natsu's head. He was half laying on the bed and he held her hand in his sleep. She took her hand back ever so gently and ran her fingers through his hair which caused him to stir then pick his head up. He looked at her with sleepy eyes then gave her a tired smile. "Good morning." He told her.

"Morning." She gave him a smile in return as she let her hand fall back to the bed. "Where am I?"

"At the palace. The king had all the wizards that were fighting in the city stay here. They even had the others come in that were fighting in different cities." He reached his hand back out and took her hand again.

"The others? What happened? Are they ok?"

"Yeah, everyone's fine. Well, some people are pretty banged up but at least they are alive."

Lucy let her eyes close as she thought about all the fears she had over the last few days, and then let them vanish as the smile grew even bigger on her face. "Thank goodness." She said quietly. Then something he said made her eyes snap open. "Wait, you said the others came into the city."

"Yep."

"Natsu, it would have taken some of them a day or more to get here."

"Yep."

"How long have I been out?"

"Just over two days."

Her entire body went still as the words hit her. Two days. She had missed two days. "Why? Why didn't someone wake me? I mean using Fairy Law shouldn't have made me sleep that long!"

"No." he told her, making sure he had a good grip on her hand. "Gramps and Porlyusica both said that it was probably just your exhaustion catching up with you, and using that spell made it so you couldn't fight it anymore. And Lucy, I have to tell you, you missed a LOT!" he grinned at her with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Well, first off the king wouldn't let Jellal just leave. So he forced him to stay here until Erza came in yesterday." He snorted out a laugh before he continued. "She was not happy about the face that the king had to lock him up in order to keep him here."

"I bet she wasn't. She didn't hurt the king did she?"

"Naa, but she wanted to. But the best part is…the king gave Jellal a full royal pardon."

"WHAT!" she shouted, sitting up so fast that her head spun. Natsu laughed loudly at her.

"Yep. Said 'Magic council be dammed'" he tried to imamate the king's voice, but it just sounded like a pitiful version of Happy instead. "'You saved not only myself, but also my daughter and made sure we were safe and were able to return Crocus. From now on, consider the slate clean.'"

Lucy smiled again, she thought about how Erza must feel right now. "Erza must be so happy now." Her smile shrank when Natsu shook his head.

"She was, until Jellal told her that he still had work to do with Crime Sorciere and that he couldn't just abandon the guild and what it stands for."

"Well, it's understandable. They have been doing a lot of good, so if he just left then it wouldn't really mean anything."

"That's what Erza said. She wants him to do whatever it is that he feels like he needs to do before he can start to have a normal life."

"Can he though? I mean, with everything he's been through is that even possible?"

"Sure it is. Yeah some bad stuff happened to him and he did some bad stuff, but at some point he's gotta see that all the good he's done outweighs the bad."

She put her head back down and just looked at him. She never thought in a million years that she would hear something like that come out of his mouth, but there it was. She felt his hand in hers and she said something she should have said a long time ago. "I love you." She whispered it, mainly because she still felt that he deserved better.

The smile he gave her was radiant. He didn't say anything, but he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. He opened his mouth then to say something but the door made a noise, announcing a new visitor. Lucy sat up and then fell back against the bed when she saw Mira walk in with little Asuka holding her hand. Lucy tried to hide her face in her pillow, but Natsu snatched it away from her. "No hiding, Lucy." He said, then got up and walked out of the room.

She forced herself to look at the girl, expecting to see hatred but all she saw was a little girl looking at her. Mira led her over to the bed and helped her to sit on the edge and took Natsu's chair, but moved it back some. She sat and folded her hands in her lap and watched the other two with a calm demeanor.

"Are you better now?" Asuka asked in her small voice.

Lucy felt her body give an involuntary jerk before she spoke. "Yes, I am better now."

"Good. Mira said you were sick, so I had to stay away from you for a while. But I wanted to come and see you." She leaned forward and threw her arms around Lucy's neck. "I'm glad you are not sick anymore."

Lucy couldn't stop the sobs from escaping, Asuka pulled back and looked at her questioningly, but it just made her cry even harder. Mira stood then and pulled the child away, telling her to find Makarov and that she would find them both later, then took the girl's place on the bed. She replaced Asuka's arms around Lucy's neck and held her while she let everything out that she had been holding back.

The next day, Lucy found herself standing before the king and several of the new Magic Council members. She thought that they were going to send her to jail for everything she had done, but instead they just wanted to talk to her about the power lacrima that was still inside her. Connor had already talked to them about it, since he was serving his time as a consultant with the council.

"What do you want to do?" a male council member her in a stern voice.

"I want it out." She replied. They all gave her satisfactory nods then sent her away with instructions that she had to go with the council to Era the next day. Which meant she had to talk to Natsu, he couldn't go with her. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to.

She was walking down a long hall when she heard him yelling at Gray just ahead. When she reached a hall crossing, she saw the two of them with their heads together and Juvia standing not far off with her face hidden behind her hands.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, causing all three of them to jump. When Juvia pulled her hands down her face was bright red, but there was a hint of a smile that touched her lips.

"I caught this pervert assaulting Juvia!"

"I was NOT assaulting her!" Gray screamed back at Natsu, which Natsu took as a challenge and then they were rolling on the ground.

Lucy skirted around them to Juvia who was watching them. "Assaulting you?" Lucy asked her, a giggle building in her throat. Juvia turned bright red again. "When did it happen?"

"During the fight in the city. We ended up in an awkward situation, and then the next thing we knew…"

Lucy threw her head back with laughter. Juvia joined her, and both of the boys stopped their fight long enough to stare at them. When Lucy could catch her breath she pulled Natsu away from Gray by his scarf, with him protesting the entire time.

"Get over it, Natsu! I need to talk to you about something."

That got his attention. He stopped struggling and gave her a serious face. "Ok, what is it?"

"I have to go to Era for a little while, with the council."

"Ok, when do we leave?"

"I am leaving with them in the morning, but you are going to stay here with the guild and then go back to Magnolia." He gave her a look that told her he didn't hear a word she said, so she sighed and grabbed both of his shoulders. "You can't go with me."

"Why?" the way he said that one word made her stomach twist.

"Because the council, along with Connor, are going to try to remove that other lacrima that he put inside me and we don't know how long it will take. Or if it will even work."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Because, if something goes wrong, I don't want you there to see it." She gave him her most stern expression, "I mean it, Natsu. I don't want you there for this."

He didn't speak, he didn't even blink. He stared at her, then turned and just walked away. Lucy called after him but he just kept going. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. She had a feeling that he was going to follow her anyway.

Two months, three weeks, and 4 days later Lucy was packing her bags in her room. The council had actually been very accommodating to her while she was there, mainly because it took longer than they hoped to remove the lacrima from her. But it was gone now. That power she hated so much, a power that she was forced to kill will, was finally gone from her. All she had now was her Celestial magic and that was just how she wanted it.

She was nervous to go back to the guild, but she had promised Makarov before she left that she would. The guild hall should be rebuilt by now, if the letters she got from Levy and Wendy were correct. Those went on top of her clothes, right before she closed the suitcase. She wondered yet again how Natsu was doing. She was wrong about him following her, and he never sent even one letter. Any time she asked Levy or anyone about him they would brush the question off, saying 'Oh, he's just being Natsu. You know how he is.' And then change the subject. It was frustrating.

When she got to the train station, she didn't get a ticket for Magnolia. There was one place she had to stop at before she went home. And the thought of going there terrified her, but she had to do it. She could feel her legs shake with every step she took through the city, she almost fell on the steps leading up to the door three times. By the time the walked into the building, she was almost in tears.

She stopped inside the newly rebuilt Blue Pegasus guild hall's lounge room. She could see the guild master behind the bar cleaning a glass as he chatted with a patron. At the edge of the bar was Ren and Eve, they had their backs to her but master Bob saw her and the glass slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor. When the glass hit and shattered, the sound caused Ren and Eve to look over at him, then they followed his eyes to see Lucy standing there. They seemed to be frozen where they stood. They knew she took Hibiki but they didn't know about the other thing she did to him.

When she opened her mouth she found that there were no words. There was nothing she could saw to make anything right with them, so she just started to sob again. Master Bob glided over to her, with Ren and Eve right behind him, and embraced her. She stopped crying then, feeling the man's arms around her, and then started crying when he spoke to her.

"We know what happened, dear. We may be angry, but we know that you never wanted to do the things you did."

"I…I killed…..I killed him!" she sobbed against his shoulder.

"I know."

They stood there for what felt like an eternity. She could never apologize enough for the things she did, she could never make them right. But it was enough for now to know that at least she wasn't hated.

Before too long, she found herself standing at her apartment door. She paused her hand on the doorknob, afraid to do in. The last time she was in there she was attacked and taken. With a swift shake of her head, she jerked the door open and then froze in shock. Her apartment was completely empty. She went from room to room checking everything, but there wasn't even a scrap of paper there. She knew it had been a while but she didn't think everything would be gone like this. Even when they were gone for seven years the landlady kept her apartment up. So to see this…she needed someone to explain it!

When she knocked on her landlady's door, there was no answer. She waited for about 20 minutes then stormed off with a snarl. When she got to the front door, she ran into something very solid and fell back on her butt. She looked up and saw the landlady, they stared at each other for a moment before the woman handed Lucy a folded piece of paper. "I was told to give this to you the moment I saw you again." Then she walked off.

Lucy unfolded the paper and stared at the words in anger.

 _If you ever want to see your stuff again, come to my place._

 _Natsu_

She crumpled the paper up and shoved it in her pocket and stomped all the way over to Natsu's house. It was just as weed covered as it always was when she got there. She banged on the door while she screamed his name. On the fourth bang, the door opened and she stepped inside. She knew what the inside of his house looked like, but now it was totally different. Mainly because her stuff filled it. Her eyes wandered around and saw that it wasn't just shoved into the building, it was all arranged nicely and put together like it belonged there. She felt herself backing out of his house and when she was in the doorway, she looked over her shoulder to the sign in his yard. It usually said 'Natsu and Happy', but a new sign was up now. One that said 'Natsu, Lucy and Happy'. She turned back around and saw Natsu standing there, she felt her breath catch in her throat at seeing him for the first time in months. Her eyes filled with tears, and let one fall when he spoke to her.

"Welcome home, Lucy."


	30. Chapter 30: Dancing with him-3 yrs later

There was a certain feel to the air that made Lucy feel at ease. She stared at herself in the mirror while she brushed her hair and though back on the last three years. It was a long and painful road but it was worth it to be where she was now. She was finally able to accept the things that happened. With all of her friends around her, not a day went by where she couldn't help but smile. And the guild mark, back where it was supposed to be, made everything feel just right.

The house was unusually quiet this particular morning. Natsu and Happy were usually already eating half the food in the house and still complaining about being hungry and begging Lucy to cook something, but today they were gone. She didn't mind, the quiet allowed her to think. That was until a frantic banging on the door snatched her out of her thoughts.

She ran to the door and threw it open before the person could break it down and saw Lisanna standing there, out of breath. "Lisanna? What are you doing here?"

Her eyes widened as she stood up straight. "You forgot?" she asked, her voice straining. "How could you forget?" she grabbed Lucy's shoulders and then yelled in her face. "HOW COULD YOU FORGET WHAT TODAY IS!"

Lucy pulled back from the other woman, confused. Then she took one look at the calendar and saw the day circled in red several times. "SHIT!" she screamed and bolted out of the house, slamming the door behind her. She heard Lisanna running right behind her. "What is WRONG with me!"

Lisanna laughed. "You've had a lot on your mind lately, I guess."

"It's still no excuse. Oh man, if Natsu finds out I'll never hear the end of it."

Lisanna burst out in laughter, but the two women kept running on. Their destination: Kardia Cathedral.

When they got there, both of them were heaving from lack of oxygen and their legs burned. But they hand managed to make it there in time. They found the right room in the back and opened it to fine it filled with women from the guild.

"What happened?" Levy asked, jogging up to them as much as she could, her protruding belly preventing her from running.

"Lucy forgot." Lisanna told her.

Levy gave her a disapproving glare, but Erza placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, I have to admit, I forgot my big day too."

"Liar!" Lucy grumbled "You reminded all of us for three months and on the morning of it you had hung banners up all over the city."

Erza laughed when she remembered. "Oh that's right." A noise caught her attention and she turned around and picked up and little bundle of blankets that was squirming. A tiny hand poked up and Erza nuzzled it with her cheek.

"Is Jellal here today?" Lucy asked.

"Did you honestly think he would miss this?" She smiled up at her, then winced when the tiny hand managed to find a lock of hair and latch onto it.

Lucy started to laugh, but Lisanna pushed her into the room. "No time for talking, you have to get ready!"

Lucy threw her an annoyed glance. "Who are you, my mother?"

"No, but I am your maid of honor. Now get dressed! You are running out of time!"

"I still have two hours!"

"GAH!" she screamed. "It's not enough time! I am SOOO telling Natsu you forgot!"

"I hate you."

"No you don't. Now MOVE!"

Twenty minutes. There was just twenty minutes until her life was going to change. She sat at the make-up table, all done up, and couldn't believe that today was actually happening. She cried several times when she thought about how her mother and father weren't there to see this, but then she realized that they _were_ with her. It didn't matter that she couldn't see them, she felt them in her heart.

Everyone was ready, all that was left was for them to line up and then get the ceremony over with. Her friends talked excitedly behind her but then stopped when there was a knock at the door. Lisanna screamed and Lucy laughed. She couldn't hear him, but she knew it was Natsu.

"NO! You can't come in here! GO AWAY!"

"Lisanna." Lucy chided. "You are going to end up losing your voice if you keep screaming like that." She turned to give a stern reply, but ended up sighing. She started to open the door but Lucy then yelled at _her_. "I didn't say to let him in!" She jumped up and fell against the door, holding it shut.

"What the hell Lucy!" Natsu's muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

"You can't see me yet!" she shouted back, even though she knew that a normal voice would be heard by him.

"Can I talk you?"

"Talk? What about?" she looked back at the other women there, and they nodded silently and left out of the other door in the back of the room. "You getting cold feet of something?"

She heard a laugh. "Never. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"What, you think I'm going to get cold feet?"

"You never know."

"Not with this."

"You sure?"

She paused. She leaned up against the door then slid down, her dress bunching up around her stomach. "When I was a little girl, I had dreams of this day." She began, she heard him lean against the door as he listened. "I knew what I wanted, and just how I wanted it. And when it came time to plan today for real, I found out that what I used to dream about was so stupid. The dress, the flowers, the guests, none of it matters. The only thing I care about, is you and me."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is." She turned half around and put a hand against the door. "I love you, Natsu. And in just a few minutes, I am going to marry you."

"Hell yeah you are!" the excitement in his voice sent a thrill throughout her body. It still amazed her that he loved her as much as he did.

The ceremony went off with a single problem…well until certain baby decided that they wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. Erza had to excuse herself, her face as red as her hair. When she shuffled out of the auditorium Lucy couldn't help but smile at her. Motherhood suited her, more than anyone thought it would. Natsu pinched her hand, bring her attention back. Sheesh, she was so scatterbrained lately. There was a reason, but that could wait.

There was another interruption when Levy burst into tears for no reason that anyone could see, and she couldn't make herself stop. Gajeel was in tears too, but only because he was laughing at his wife.

When it was all over with, Lucy felt a pride inside her that she had never felt before. She was a new person now, and it was someone she excited to be. Being a daughter was sometimes hard, but fun. A friend was more fun than anything else and wizard, well that had a lot of ups and downs, but it led her to her new identity. Lucy was someone's wife now. But not just anyone's, it was Natsu. A man that was so stubborn and dense that she thought would always just be a friend. The never imagined falling in love with him. But it happened. And he never gave up on her, not once. Not even when she woke him up in the middle of the night screaming, or when she jumped every time he touched her when she wasn't looking. Through every tearstained shirt, bruise, scream, sleepless night, and mood swing, he was there by her side. He never wavered in his feeling for her, and that made her love him even more.

They walked arm in arm into the guild hall, greeted by the cheers of their guild mates as Makarov introduced them. They began their first dance as husband and wife, never taking their eyes from each other. Natsu had a look of concentration that made Lucy giggle, but she still kept her gaze on him.

The song ended, and another started. More people started to dance but Natsu and Lucy never moved from their spot. In the corner of her eyes she could see Gray and Juvia dancing together, she still had a look of winder in her eyes when she looked at him even though their wedding was just a month away. Lisanna was helping with that one too. She was the guild wedding planner now it seemed.

Lucy felt herself laugh and looked away from Natsu for a second.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked her.

"Just thinking about Lisanna."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I just had a though go through my head that she's the guild wedding planner now."

Natsu scrunched his forehead as he thought back the past few years. "I think you might be right."

"I feel kinda bad for her, though."

"Why?"

"Well, with how much help she's been for all of us it doesn't seem fair that she hasn't been able to have her own."

"I wouldn't feel too bad for her."

"Why's that?"

"Do you remember that new guy? He joined the guild around the end of last year?"

"You mean that guy that can talk to animals?"

"That's the one. Well I heard from a little birdy that those two have been taking a bunch of jobs together, alone."

"Oh dear. How do Mira and Elfman feel about that?"

"HA! Those two are so preoccupied with their growing broods they don't even see it when it's right in front of their faces."

"Good point." She laughed. Growing broods. That reminded Lucy of something that she needed to tell Natsu. She threw her hands around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, putting her mouth right up to his ear. "Speaking of…I'm pregnant." She whispered. She felt him tense up, then he pulled her closer.

"Well duh."

She pushed him back and glared at him. "Excuse me? I tell you…THAT and all you can say it… _THAT!_ "

He laughed at her, so much so that he was doubled over. When he stood back up he took her hands in his. "With all the pregnant women around, did you honestly think I wouldn't smell the changes in you?" She could tell he was fighting off another laugh.

She punched his arm. "You could have still said something better. I mean this is big news! I practiced for hours yesterday, trying out different way to tell you." She yanked her hands back with a growl and turned her back on him. "You could have at least pretended to be surprised."

He hugged her from behind and chuckled. "You want a do-over? I can do it better!"

"Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not. I promise. Come on, tell me again!"

She sighed and turned back around, putting herself back in the same position she was in before and said those two words again. Natsu started to shake, when she pulled back she saw that his face was twisted up and tears were falling down his cheeks. He threw his arms around her and lifted her into the air. "I can't believe it! OH I'M SOOO HAPPY!" he shouted out. Lucy wanted to be angry, but she was too busy laughing herself.

"Ok, ok! Put me down."

"Better?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

They stood there, silent and frozen as the music played and their friends danced around them. There was nothing there but the two of them…well two and a half. She felt him lower a hand down to her stomach and set it there, his eyes never leaving hers. They may not have been moving, but oh were they dancing. And being there, dancing with him, was the only thing in the world that mattered.


End file.
